Ultra Vector 2085
by Pollardinator
Summary: "My friends." The Secretary-General began, as quiet descended again. "Vampires walk amongst us." When the existence of the vampire race is discovered by the United Nations,an elite black ops unit is deployed to destroy the cold ones of the night. But as the war escalates and the body count rises,the question is soon asked 'Is this a war humanity can win?
1. Prologue

**United Nations Building, New York 12:00am**

The atmosphere in the conference room of the UN Security Council, also known as the Norwegian Room ,was tense and on edge. Around the polished oak wood table the fifteen representatives of the council sat in silence, along with the national leaders of each country, all attempting to make room for everyone at the table. No one spoke; they all knew the grave seriousness of the situation at the moment. They had all seen the ring of steel thrown up around the building they sat in, the platoons of US Marines patrolling the grounds, the armoured vehicles and tanks at every street corner within in a two mile radius and the Blackhawk helicopters in the skies above, packed with international special forces teams ready at a moment's notice to be dropped in. Outside the conference room, and throughout the corridors of the huge building, Delta Force commandoes, SAS soldiers and Russian Spetnatz combing every inch of it alongside black bereted South Korean 707th Battalion soldiers and even Moroccan Navy Marines.

Each man and woman around the table had a million questions to be asked, but all of them sensed that now was not the time, and that soon their questions would be answered. Some of the international leaders had only just arrived, some from halfway around the world, but the message they had all received, handwritten by the Secretary-General himself, was too crazy, so completely out of the blue and ridiculous, that it had to be true. A few had laughed at first, others had been silent, but all had reacted to those four simple words in the Secretary-General's looping handwriting.

Humanity is under threat.

Still, they had come, and now, as the doors at the back opened, every person at the table turned, eyes wide and ready for anything, as the Secretary- General walked into the room, and took a seat at the table.

For a second, the small Asian man closed his eyes, as if about to disclose some terrible secret, took a deep breath and then finally spoke, his voice soft but with undisputed authority behind it.

"My friends." He began slowly, looking around the table. I have called this meeting together to address a simple fact. We are at war."

Silence. Nobody batted an eyelid. Everyone was on the edge of their seat, waiting for the Secretary-General to speak again.

"This council's role has always been to protect humanity and to preserve international peace, but now it appears there is a new threat that we must now fight. We must break the peace we have tried so long to defend, and declare total war upon this threat to our species. I am not talking rogue states, terrorists or genocidal dictators here, I am talking about something that is outside the human race, and, if we do not act, has the capacity to destroy it."

As he said this, the Secretary-General noticed the frowns and looks of confusion etched on every face in the room, and yet ignored them as an image was projected onto the wall opposite him, and these faces all turned to watch as a grainy video began to play.

"This is a video taken from a UN refugee camp in Central Africa approximately ten hours ago. After watching it, the local UN ambassador had it sent straight to my office. As you will soon see, the contents are…disturbing."

As he finished speaking, the video began to play, showing the main gate of the camp, three UN soldiers in blue combat helmets patrolling up and down by it. Then there was a sudden blur of white at the top of the screen, and a figure appeared, a local tribesman judging by his traditional clothing, but there seemed something wrong with him, the way he moved toward the men, like a predatory animal, casually strolling straight toward the gate.

One of the soldiers went to stop him, one hand on his assault rifle as he raised the other in a gesture to stop. The man kept going, his eyes seeming to glow red before he lunged forward and fell upon the soldier. A collective intake of breath followed it, but then these were released in cries and screams of horror.

The tribesman seemed to be biting into the helpless soldier's neck, and the two others raised their weapons and fired. Yet the bullets had no effect, and the man was soon upon them, with the next minute just the attacker appearing to drink the blood of the collapsed soldiers. And, as the video cut began to degenerate into static, the man waved at the camera, then was lost in a blur of white again. Instantly the room was filled with shocked shouts and screams, people around the table just sitting with their mouths open, or pointing desperately at the screen, whispering to them the horror of what they had just seen.

"My friends." The Secretary-General began, as quiet descend again, and licked his dry lips before saying softly. "Vampires walk amongst us."

The room degenerate into uproar. Every man and woman around the table was shouting, at one another or at the Secretary General, their protests echoing around the room until the South Korean President stood up, his voice shouting out over all the others, until finally they were silenced.

"Vampires? How do you know? How do you know this is not just some crazed, drug addled tribesman from the plains? Why do you assume that old legends are the instant explanation for this? Explain me that, my friend…"

Looking pleased with himself, he sat down, and every eye in the room was once again on the elderly Secretary General, who calmly replied.

"Of course, you want evidence, and I did when I first heard about it. But explain to me how, after this video was taken, this…creature, went straight into that camp and began feasting on the blood of every man, woman and child he could find. When more peacekeepers attempted to stop him, he tore them apart. And I don't mean that figuratively, my friends. Literally there was nothing but scraps of clothing and blood when they were discovered. It was only when a light armoured vehicle fired upon him with a 25mm auto cannon that he showed any sign of slowing. He managed to do this before he was destroyed…" he added, and the image on the wall changed to the armoured side of the vehicle, a huge, metre wide dent, as if it had been punched by some cosmic fist, clearly visible.

For a second, the Secretary General fell silent, and the South Korean president hung his head in his hands. The next time the Secretary General spoke, every eye in the room was upon him, listening intently and without comment.

"These things must be destroyed. They are thousands of times stronger than any man, as you saw, and their speed appears to be in excess of a hundred miles per hour. Their skin is almost ridiculously tough, although it appears very high calibre rounds and explosives can pierce it, and they must be dismembered then burnt, in case these vampires turn out to have some sort of regeneration ability. I personally don't know why these monsters have not already made their presence known, why they are not now using us as slaves, but we believe we may have found the base of their main ruling council. It wasn't hard, at least not with the resources at our command, but we believe we now have enough information to enter the next phase of our plan- to declare war upon the creatures of the night."

"What will this involve?" said one of the representatives, the Chinese ambassador, his face pale with fear, but with a defiant look on his face. "What will it take for this war of yours to be won?"

The Secretary General turned to him, smiling grimly.

"Why, my friend, the complete and utter destruction of every vampire on the planet. To quote Chruchill, if I may, it seems that every vampire must be 'sponged, purged, and if need be, blasted from the surface of the earth' .If this is what it takes to ensure the survival of our race against these monsters, then we must steel ourselves, put our pride aside, and, as an organisation, as a species, make a solemn promise that we shall not rest, until the last of these monsters takes their last breath and dies. Now, I believe it is time for me to tell you what this will entail. Phase one is complete, as I believe I have explained to you what we must do, and I hope you all support this measure?"

Thirty heads nodded slowly, and the Secretary General smiled.

"Phase Three, we will establish an international taskforce, a black ops unit, if you prefer the term that will go out into the world, find and then destroy any and all of this vile species. Yes, my friends, I am talking about genocide. But, and in many ways it kills me to say this, it is a justified killing. These monsters have no place in the world. They kill and destroy without thought. Any that they infect rises as one of their own, but crazed and murderous. Their powers are huge and almost limitless, and yet, we will overcome them!"

As he finished a slow round of applause began, but was suddenly cut off as the Rwandan representative spoke up, a frown crossing his face.

"I am sorry to interrupt you, Secretary General, but I want to know one thing before we go any further with this venture. You mentioned phases one and three, but what is phase two?"

In reply, the Secretary General smiled grimly.

"The first strike."


	2. Chapter 1- First Strike

**Volterra, Italy 4:00 am**

It was a clear night in Volterra, historic home of the Volturi vampire coven, the unofficial leaders of the vampire world since the destruction of the Romanian coven centuries ago. Since then, the Volturi had remained the royalty of the vampires, laying down laws and destroying rebels and overeager hunters to avoid detection by the human world. They had been successful. Until now.

And now, as he sat in the elegant throne room of the Volturi, Aro, leader of their group, was feeling something he hadn't for a long time. He couldn't remember if he had ever felt this way, even in his human life, centuries ago. Caius, his right hand and ruthless enforcer of the Volturi, had once felt this emotion, when a werewolf nearly killed him many years ago, but Aro was now feeling that same sentiment, even as he sat there, all the powers of the vampire world at his command. He could remember its name, and yet the emotion was still alien to him.

Fear.

And fear of humans no less, the worthless masses that he and his kind fed off and could, if they wished, destroy at a moment's notice. At times he had thought that maybe one day, humans might be able to fight them, that one day their technology would catch up with the speed and strength of the vampires. Until now, he had believed that the day would never happen, and it had been a mere worry for him and the other Volturi leaders. The last time he had thought about this had been almost seventy years ago, at the end of the human's Second World War, when he had seen images of the aftermath of a weapon that could level cities in one explosion. He had dismissed it however, ignored Caius' call for a pre-emptive strike to rid the humans of these weapons once and for all, and had told him this was the pinnacle of their achievements. He had been wrong.

It was only now, after decades of bigger and more powerful human weaponry, that he was actually scared.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, by a knock at the heavy oak doors at the end of the room, and he could hear the panting breath of someone outside. Instantly he knew it was Jane, one of his most powerful subordinates, and he could smell the fear coming off her in waves. Before she had even opened the door, Aro was out of his seat. If Jane was scared as well then there must be something very wrong with the world. She was one of his prize pupils, alongside her brother Alec, and, although they appeared young and naive, they were each centuries old servants of the Volturi, powerful beyond measure, yet now, as she stumbled into the room, tears on her porcelain white skin, Aro instantly knew there was a problem, and a huge one at that.

"My lord…" she began, still crying pitifully, but already the ancient vampire leader was in front of her, his eyes staring straight into her, yet filled with concern.

"What is it child?" he asked softly, looking down at her.

"Humans…" she replied tearfully. "They know of us."

Aro laughed ,a smirk on his impossibly pale features.

"Really Jane? This concerns you? Where are they? They will be destroyed before the sun rises."

But when Jane continued to cry, and prostrated herself before him pleadingly, all her pride and dignity gone, Aro knew this was serious.

"What happened?" he began slowly, taking a deep breath to calm himself, despite the fact his species didn't need to breathe.

Jane stood up, but her face was still marked by sadness.

"A new-born, my lord. He attacked a human refugee camp in central Africa, killed or turned dozens, maybe hundreds."

Aro's eyes blazed with anger.

"Where is the newborn?!" he demmanded, his calm façade instantly dropped as he realised what this meant.

"The humans destroyed him. I only found out from Alec who was on a…"

Jane was silenced in a second as she felt herself thrown through the air, hitting the back wall hard. It didn't hurt particularly, but it was the thought, the idea, of her master, who had turned her centuries ago, raised her and her brother amongst the Volturi, had struck her, was horrific to her. As she picked herself up, for a second she considered using her powers against Aro, but knew she would be dead before she so much as thought it.

"The humans destroyed the newborn?" Aro repeated, pacing across the marble floor, a thoughtful look on his face. "So it is true. Caius!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Caius was in front of him, bowing slightly toward the Volturi leader, which Aro returned swiftly .

"What is it?" Caius said gruffly, running a hand through his long blonde hair, a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"We may have a problem."

Caius smiled, but when Jane spoke again, that smile died, replaced by a look of pure anger.

"My lords, Alec told me it was a United Nations camp, and that it may have been filmed by the camp's…"

Before she could form the next word, Caius had her by the throat, his powerful hands ready to crush her in a second.

"What did you just say?" he said quietly, but Jane sensed that he was seriously considering destroying her.

"This is worse than I thought." Aro said ,then turned to Caius. "I always feared this day would come…"

"Worry not, my friend." Caius said, a grim smile on his face. "I will go to this place, destroy the humans and any newborns, make all well once more."

The Volturi leader paused for a second, then nodded.

"We need this sorted. If the humans found out…"

He left that thought hanging for a second, and both Caius and Jane instantly understood. For centuries they had been the guardian of the vampires' secrecy ,but now ,if the humans were to find out, and such a powerful body as the UN, things could escalate quickly.

"I can stop this." Caius said softly, whispering almost in the leader's ear. "Rally the Guard. We strike now at their headquarters, destroy any evidence and witnesses. They can't be allowed to know of us. We have been in the shadows too long, my friend. Maybe now is the time to put them in their place…"

"No." Aro replied shortly, knowing that Caius had been prone to argument before. But now was not the time for reckless thoughts. Now was the time for action.

"As you wish." Caius said shortly, annoyance obvious in his dark crimson eyes. "I will take the Guard. Cleanse this camp of any newborns or humans. But if it all goes wrong…"

Aro's eyes flashed deep black for a second.

"It will not! The humans will not find out, they will not strike!"

Jane looked on, shocked at Aro's outburst, but Caius merely frowned slightly before saying.

"It will be done. Jane, with me."

And with that the two other vampires were gone in blurs of light and Aro was left alone. He considered calling for Marcus, the third of the Volturi leaders, at least for some more pleasant company than what he had just had.

As he walked back to his throne, Aro heard a faint whining in the air above, and the whoosh of a jet engine overhead.

"Probably some human aeroplane" he laughed, almost ashamed at his previous fear.

Everything would be fine.

Then his world was lost in flame and blackness overtook Aro forever.

Brigadier General Francesco Pilli flew his Eurofighter Typhoon jet away from Volterra, a heavy weight on his conscience.

He had just used the first tactical nuclear device in a war since 1945,and now felt the reality of it come crashing down on him. How many people had been in that town when he dropped that weapon on them? Eleven thousand? Twelve thousand? And how many of them had been vampires? Probably only a hundred at the most.

Since he had been given this mission, since two men in black suits had taken him to one side at his airbase only an hour ago, dragged him out of bed in the early morning and told to take this mission or risk life imprisonment, he had been on edge. When they had said the words 'vampire' he had felt it to be a joke, some ridiculous set up by the base commander. But when they said 'nuclear weapon' he had sat up straight. And when they had told him that he was expected to bomb a town in his own country, kill his own people, he had been ready to punch them both, shut their mouths and stop their fake smiles and sympathy.

But then he had slowly begun to realise that this was the only option, that the monsters they described to him had to be destroyed and, as he sent his jet spiralling away from the ruined city behind him, he looked back for a second, and saw the mushroom cloud spiralling up into the sunrise.

Caius felt a long, harsh scream erupt forth from him as he watched the cloud rising up from what had once been Volterra, saw the firestorm raging within the remains of the city. Hot, angry tears sprung up from his blazing crimson eyes, and he felt the rage within his body ready to create an explosion of hatred to rival that which had levelled his home.

Behind him the ten other vampires he had brought with him were all silent, their expression ones of pure shock and sorrow.

"My lord…" began one of them, placing a hand upon the remaining Volturi leader. He never spoke again. Without a word Caius grabbed the vampire by his throat and ,with a scream of rage, tore his head from his shoulders and hurled it away into the devastated woods around them. Turning to the others, his hands contorted into claws, his appearance was so angered and horrifying that the ancient vampires before him flinched as he spoke, stabbing a finger toward the mushroom cloud over the former city.

"We will have vengeance! I will have vengeance! These…humans, will regret the day they decided to fight the vampire race!"

As the others nodded in agreement, Caius' keen eyes easily picked out the vapour trail of a human jet plane in the golden sky overhead.

Without another word he began to run, sensing the others behind him, sprinting so fast he was a blur, following the trail of the plane, ready to destroy whatever he found at the end of his hunt.


	3. Chapter 2- The Next Phase

**United Nations Building, New York 8:00am**

The atmosphere in the Norwegian Room was sombre and mournful that morning as the Security Council and international leaders took their places on the round table. Each one of them was lost in their own thoughts, the idea that they had authorised the use of a nuclear weapon upon a town in Italy that, despite the presence of some of the most powerful vampires in the world, still had a large population of innocent humans. And the thought they had allowed those people to be destroyed hung heavy on the conscience of all present.

And yet, the operation had been a success. The Volturi were no more, and the vampires were now left leaderless. But now the Secretary-General was entering the room, and everyone turned to face him, the old man only nodding slowly before he spoke.

"The Volturi are gone." He declared simply, a slightly smug smile on his face. "And we have already shown the vampires that their enemy is more powerful than them. Without the iron fist of the Volturi over them, I expect the rest of the vampire population to soon be rooted out. As I speak our elite special forces units are being trained and prepared for the coming war, and will be ready for battle soon enough."

But then, as a faint round of applause began, another voice suddenly spoke out from behind the Secretary-General.

"Excuse me for intruding sir, but I have to report some grave news. Not all the Volturi are dead."

Instantly every eye in the room turned to face the speaker, a thin Italian soldier, dressed in the ornate uniform of a high ranking officer.

The Secretary-General turned to him, his eyes for a second displaying anger, but soon he was back to his calm self.

"I am sorry my friends, I forgot to introduce our esteemed guest, General Uberto."

The General only nodded at the international leaders before turning to the Secretary-General.

"Our scout jets found them following the bomber which dropped the nuclear weapon. We believe there to be at least ten of them, including what appears to be one of the vampire leaders. From our current estimates they will reach Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base within the next hour at the latest. I urge you to…"

"Perfect!" the Secretary-General said, grinning. "General, I want that base on high alert. We can have the European Division of the hunter-killer squads there at around the same time as the vampires arrive. The perfect chance to test out the new equipment and tactics we have in the making."

The general made to protest, but sighed and saluted.

"It will be done" he said, then quickly ran from the room to get orders to the base.

Turning back to the Security Council, the Secretary-General smiled.

"It begins…"


	4. Chapter 3- Veni Vidi Vici

**Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base, Italy 10:00pm **

Caius lurked in the shadows of the growing darkness, looking out at the light blazing out from the human airbase beyond. Behind him were his ten remaining followers, all almost invisible to human eyes.

He had chosen to lie low for the past day, hiding out in an abandoned barn ten miles from the airbase, planning his strategy. Although, to be honest, he thought, there was no need for any real tactics for this assault. The humans couldn't possibly take out any of his elite group. After laying waste to this place through a surprise attack, Caius intended to fight a long and bloody campaign against the humans, and the nearby city of Bologna would prove an easy target for the next stage. Without Aro and Marcus, he was now the most senior vampire in the world, and intended to raise a vast army of vampires and newborns to wipe out any who opposed him. By the time he was finished, he would be the ruler of all humankind, and would hold court upon the ashes of the United Nations Headquarters.

With a rush of air, one of his most loyal lieutenants, Santiago, appeared next to him, his red eyes ablaze.

"I have seen human soldiers moving into the base since the early afternoon. Armoured vehicles, helicopter gunships, jet planes…they're organised. Maybe…"

"Maybe nothing." Caius snarled. "Prepare the guard. We move in five minutes."

Captain Joseph Staunton watched the perimeter fence through his rifle scope, the night vision painting the land beyond in lurid shades of luminescent green. The SAS officer didn't know if his rifle would have any effect upon the vampires lurking somewhere out there, but if the powerful Russian made 14.5×114mm rounds loaded in his unit's anti materiel rifles didn't, then there was no hope for them anyway.

Casually running a hand over the stock of his customized AS50 sniper rifle, he glanced at the airfield behind. The whole international European Division of the UN's vampire taskforce, known as Ultra Vector 2085, named for the NATO code for U and V, Undead Vampire, and the number of the UN Security Council resolution creating it, all one hundred of them, was positioned on all the approaches to the airbase, along with the base garrison of five hundred Italian Army soldiers. Staunton's ten man squad was all in position with a complement of high powered anti materiel rifles and heavy machine guns, made up of soldiers from various European special forces regiments, including British SAS, French GIGN, Belgian Pathfinders, German Kommando Spezialkrafte and Polish GROM. Above roared an Apache helicopter gunship on patrol, sweeping the area with bright light, and the rumble of an Italian C1 Ariete battle tank moving into position behind.

With a sigh he set his eye to the scope again. Nothing would attack them tonight. Then he saw a shape blur into existence about ten metres from the perimeter fence. Instantly he was on the radio to Command back at the base.

"Contact! Contact! Ultra Vectors in the area!"

Caius cursed as searchlights erupted over the base beyond and a piercing alarm screamed out, hammering onto the sensitive hearing of all the vampires present.

"We move now!" he ordered, pointing one pale hand at the base beyond. "Santiago, Jane with me!" The rest of you, kill them all!"

With a single animalistic roar the entire group rushed forward, straight into the blazing lights from beyond. As soon as they burst through the flimsy perimeter fence, a storm of automatic gunfire struck them. Caius felt a smile creep onto his face as the bullets ricocheted off his skin. Beside him Santiago laughed as he sprang forward alongside the Volturi leader.

"The hunt begins…" he began, but suddenly an ear splitting crack pierced the air, and the burly vampire fell to the ground, his head gone.

"Explosive weapons!" Caius roared. "Jane, make them pay." He commanded coldly, spotting a group of human soldiers taking aim nearby.

Jane was at his side in a heartbeat, her face filled with fury. Her brother had been one of the many casualties of the destruction of Volterra. With a smile on her pale features she turned to him, ignoring the bullets spinning past them.

"With pleasure."

Captain Staunton saw the aftermath of his shot, watched the huge vampire fall to the ground. But then, in the time he took to pull the bolt back on his rifle, the vampire leader, a blonde haired mountain of a man, was joined by a pale faced girl, who couldn't have been more than thirteen.

But when the girl raised her hand toward him and the other snipers, Staunton knew that, whatever the girl vampire was about to do, it was directed at him and his squad.

"Get…!" he was able to say before he fell to the ground, his rifle clattering uselessly to the floor, fire all over his body, and that of the rest of his men.

"It's all over me!" screamed a wiry GROM operative next to him, writhing in abject pain and terror.

And, as his squad, all trained and hardened commandos, all rolled in the grass covered in flame, Staunton could see, in between the flashes of excruciating pain, the blonde haired vampire leader casually stop next to him, look down, and laugh.

Caius looked down at the screaming commandos; all clawing at the imaginary fire they believed tore at their bodies. And yet it was all an illusion created by Jane, who stood by a howling GIGN soldier, fist ready to punch out the man's heart.

"Shall I kill these ones?" she said softly, ducking to avoid a rocket fired from further up the hill, then casually running a hand through her hair, which had been slightly blown out of its tight bun by the rocket flying past.

"No." Caius replied, looking at the base up the hill, where gunfire still crackled out from. "Let them suffer."

And with that the two vampires sprinted on, Caius throwing aside two terrified Italian soldiers who attempted to run, tearing them both apart in seconds.

"Cowardly dogs." He spat. "Destroy everything."

His army, now missing two members, emerged out onto the tarmac runway, three hangars looming up ahead, where groups of human soldiers were attempting to mount a defence against the all-powerful enemy they faced.

Tearing the throat out of a screaming commando, Caius looked up as the roar of helicopter blades drowned out the screams of the humans and rattle of gunfire. Above them loomed four Apache helicopter gunships, ready to take on the creatures of the night. He grinned.

"Good effort, but too late to save you..."

Staunton slowly picked himself up from the ground, checking himself for burns and injuries on his uniform and retrieving his rifle from where he threw it.

The rest of his squad were also getting up, a German Kommando next to him vomiting into the grass before saying.

"What was that? I was on fire…"

"Vampire illusions." Staunton stated bluntly, looking at the airbase beyond, where screams and explosions continued to emanate from. "Now let's go get the bastards."

The human soldier bellowed with rage as Jane lifted him with one hand and suspended him in midair, giggling as she held him just off the ground upside down. But, to her horror, even though she blasted him with an illusion of excruciating pain, he only spat in her face, and drew his sidearm. She was already about to throw him when he aimed at her face, but was already too late, the bullet slamming into her eye just as she threw him upwards. Although normally she would have rejoiced in pleasure at her victim's demise, sent screaming at hundreds of miles per hour straight into the cockpit of a low flying helicopter, destroying the machine in a blazing explosion, she had no time for that as she fell to the tarmac howling in pain, her own pain, for the first time in centuries.

She almost felt happy when a tall human soldier stood over her, his rifle pointed straight at her face, not even caring when he spoke.

"Let's even that pretty face up…" he said, laughing grimly as he pulled the trigger and condemned the ancient vampire to oblivion.

In the melee in the center of the tarmac, Caius stood in a sea of bodies, effortlessly dispatching any who came near him. Tearing off the arm of a howling Russian Spetnatz soldier clutching a curved machete, the Volturi leader grinned, sinking his teeth into the dying man's throat.

But then he felt a sharp pain strike his legs, looking down in horror to see them nothing but charred stumps, a group of nearby snipers lowering their smoking rifles.

"You would…!" he started, his eyes blazing with rage at the damage the humans were doing. Already five of his group was dead, the enemy bringing them down with crude explosive weapons and sheer audacity. But they would all pay. With or without legs, he could easily tear these humans apart without a second thought. Then he felt himself shoved to the ground, and he looked up as a soldier in a black uniform, the badge on his light brown beret showing him as an SAS officer, loomed above him. Coldly looking down at the most powerful vampire on the planet, he drew a huge revolver from his belt, aiming its long barrel straight at Caius' face.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you." He snapped. "You may be fast but I think my trigger finger is just as quick. And if you're wondering this gun has explosive rounds in it, so if you so much as move your head will be paste, monster"

Caius snarled at Captain Staunton, but didn't move, the sound of battle seeming to slow from around them as the two, man and monster, stared at one another.

"You think you can destroy the vampires?!" Caius laughed. "Many men just like you have tried to fight us, and all came to ruin. That fancy gun of yours will be no help to you when the full might of the Volturi is brought to…"

Staunton shushed him softly, and was surprised when the vampire leader actually paused for a second, long enough for him to shove a hand grenade in the hulking monster's mouth.

"You talk too much…" he said bluntly, pulling the pin and throwing it to one side as he casually walked away.

A dull thump was the only sound from behind him as the last of the Volturi leader was destroyed, and he only glanced behind, muttering to himself.

"Job well done."

An hour later and the whole area had been locked down, a full contingent of the Italian Army sweeping the surrounding area, and the battered remains of the European Contingent patrolling the base, teams with flamethrowers burning the corpses of the vampire attackers.

Captain Staunton was stood by the main hangar, earning a salute from a flamethrower team marching past, glancing up as two black Chinook helicopters soared overhead, filled with squads of special forces troops. Already they were being called out to destroy small groups of vampires across Europe, and soon they would be starting the process of training new groups up, with a small unit sent to Johannesburg to help set up an African Division.

But Staunton had no time to think of the future, with General Uberto, the newly promoted commander of the European Diviosion, on the line.

"How many dead?" the general asked his voice crackling slightly over the secure line.

"Thirty five, all good soldiers…" Staunton replied. Since his part in ending the battle, after the destruction of the leader the others had been quickly dealt with, he had been promoted to the leader of this fifty man unit, soon to be joined by five others across the continent.

"And the Volturi?"

"All dead sir. We're burning the bodies now…just in case."

The general sounded approving as he replied.

"Good, good. The Security Council is eager to find out the result. But we have to know one thing Captain, is the Volturi leader Caius dead?"

Staunton paused for a second, walking over to where he had left Caius' body after blowing him apart with a high explosive grenade. As he walked, Uberto was still talking.

"Anyway, once you've confirmed the death of Caius, we need you ready to move by tomorrow. There's talk of a powerful vampire coven in Romania…"

But Staunton wasn't listening as he looked down at the bloodstained tarmac, almost letting the radio drop to the floor.

"Captain, what's wrong?!" Uberto demanded, and Staunton, with a slight tremble in his voice, finally answered him.

"Sir, it's the Volturi leader Caius…he's gone…"


	5. Chapter 4- The Calm Before The Storm

**The Carpathian Mountains, Romania 8:00pm**

The grey Boeing C-17 Globemaster soared low over the snow topped mountains, its escorts, two Romanian MIG-21's, staying close to it, ready for anything. After a few days of research, and one large scale demonstration of vampire powers, the UN forces barely knew the extent of their enemy's powers. For all they knew, the vampires could indeed fly.

In its cavernous hold was sat Captain Staunton and his ten man squad, along with another led by a huge German Kommando called Hauptmann Klausewitz, and the imposing bulk of a Challenger Mark 2 battle tank, painted black and secured to the metal floor whilst a group of engineers scurried around it. Staunton sighed as he sat strapped in on a cold metal seat, the shuddering of the plane around him stopping any sort of sleep.

He was deep in thought as he checked his kit for what felt like the hundredth time, pausing over the familiar shape of his L85A2 rifle, newly brought over along with a ton of other equipment from England after the battle at the airbase. It felt much heavier now, after been converted to fire the same 14.5×114mm rounds they had used in the previous battle, after the devastating toll they had taken upon the vampire attackers. New kit had been given to Staunton and his men as well, mainly a jet black uniform and body armour set, including night vision goggles and deep crimson berets, the words 'Ultra Vector' embossed on the silver cap badge. But the strangest piece of equipment that had been shipped out to the taskforce were large silver, almost cartoonishly big, Magnum 500 revolvers, loaded with explosive bullets.

Staunton was genuinely surprised at the speed of this campaign, when he had been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan they had never moved this quickly with days, sometimes weeks, in between different operations. And yet, only a day after the battle at the airbase, they were already soaring towards the next objective, and would be there in barely half an hour.

The brief from General Uberto before they set off was simple. The Romanian Coven, led by two immensely powerful vampires, Stefan and Vladimir, was next on the list of enemies, as it could potentially ally with the remains of the Volturi and become a substantial threat.

"This is just crazy…" came the voice of Staunton's second in command, Lieutenant Rog, a Polish GROM operative, the squad sniper, a short, thin man, but with an accuracy that had impressed even the stony faced Uberto. "Last week I was about to start my holiday, this week I'm fighting vampires in Romania! Although I'm surprised they're not in Transylvania, like in Dracula. I mean, if they were, we wouldn't need such ridiculous weapons to kill them!"

A few others nodded agreement, but suddenly stopped as the cabin intercom crackled into life .

"This is your captain speaking." Came the voice of the pilot, with a distinct French accent. "We're coming close to the drop site. I suggest any extra briefing you have to do, get it done now before we reach the objective."

Staunton nodded and stood up from his seat, keeping his footing as the aircraft shuddered violently.

"Alright men, you heard the brief from Uberto but I feel you all need a reminder. Our target is Peles Castle, a 19th Century country house near the town of Sinaia. Now, these vampires are as powerful, if not more so, than our friends at the airbase were, so stick together and remember, anything that's not one of us is considered an enemy. Now, I must stress that we have to stick as a tight unit and under no circumstances can you allow yourself to be bitten. We all know the unit's policy about that."

The rest of the group nodded grimly. They all knew the deadly fate of those unlucky soldiers bitten during the last battle. Staunton paused for a second as the pilot gave them another time update. Five minutes.

"Anyway, we move in through the forests to the north, consult your maps if you need reminding, and enter the building through the terrace at the back along with Klausewitz's boys. From there our mission is simple. Destroy every vampire and collaborator in the vicinity. Any questions?"

"Why don't we just nuke it like we did to the last vampire stronghold?" asked Private Vickers, another SAS soldier, his face hidden behind his balaclava.

"Wish we , due to the proximity of other towns as well as Sinaia to the area, and the potential problems from dropping a nuclear weapon without express permission from the Romanians, it would be a very bad idea. It was bad enough getting the Italians to agree. Besides, we didn't destroy the Volturi entirely with the first bomb, so command wants us to confirm the deaths of every vampire in the Romanian coven."

As he finished the brief, they came above the drop point, and the huge bay door at the back opened, flight crew shouting to one another as the heavy Challenger tank was readied for its drop.

Having to shout over the roar of the night wind rushing in, Staunton quickly organized his men into a rough line, each one checking parachutes and weaponry as he said.

"Ok we follow the tank down to the drop site, link up with the rest of the strike force and move in from there! We should have cover from the air in case the enemy are in the open but once it gets to the interior fighting, no mercy!"

By now the tank had been dropped, and was floating down far below on a huge silk parachute to land. As the flight crew shouted at them to move, each man ran to the edge and jumped off, one by one, ready to pull their parachutes when they got halfway. When Staunton's turn came, he checked his equipment one last time, took a deep breath, jumped, and was swallowed up by the darkness.


	6. Chapter 5- Hunting Season

**Peles Castle, the Carpathian Mountains, Romania 9:00pm**

Staunton felt like he was falling forever as the cold night air whipped past him, the dark forest below seeming to reach up to ensnare him in thick pine branches. All around him he saw other black figures spread out across the dark sky, the grey forms of at least five other transport planes high above, along with the dark masses of ten Challenger Mark 2 battle tanks, all floating serenely downward. Pulling his parachute, Staunton could see the world below in a much clearer light, the small town of Sinai beyond the forest was silent, its residents probably either asleep or huddled in fear from the Ultra Vector assault. The castle itself was set on a hill in the middle of the forest, its white form lit up by helicopters now soaring over it and training their searchlights down, and would already be echoing with the screams of the vampire hunting calls, Staunton thought. They would already know that the Ultra Vector taskforce was here; they had never taken the element of surprise into consideration at any point in the plan, and would be ready for anything. The losses tonight would be high.

As he hit the ground in a small clearing, marked by a red signal flare, Staunton threw off his parachute and harness, letting them fall to the ground as he checked his weapons. There was no time to gather in the parachute or clear up after the landing. Now was the time for action.

The rest of his squad were by him within twenty seconds, drawing their own individual weapons as he, with only a brief nod toward the south and the castle beyond, ran into the dense forest.

The rumble of tanks hammered into his ears as the SAS captain threw himself over fallen trees and tumbled rocks, the crash of falling trees echoing over the dark forest, birds flying away as the heavy battle tanks rammed straight through the undergrowth to his right. His squad were right behind, their weapons out as branches and bushes were ploughed through by the armoured soldiers.

"The castles just beyond!" Staunton shouted as a searchlight swept the forest. "We enter through the gardens at the back and into the main building. Klausewitz will be covering the back if any of those things get behind us. Remember, if you see one of those monsters; put a bullet through their head, disorient them. Then destroy them." He added coldly.

The others only muttered in response before they emerged out of the forest, and onto the back lawn. The castle rose up ahead, more of a stately home than a fortress, a monstrosity of white stone and black tiles, with a darkened glass conservatory complex at the back, to which the squad rushed for. The tanks had reached their positions by then, their gunners aiming up at the house, whilist other squads ran alongside and black helicopters buzzed over.

"Right behind you captain!" shouted Lieutenant Rog from next to him, slapping his heavy battle rifle as they charged across the elegantly manicured lawn and toward the conservatory.

"Open it!" Staunton roared, and Corporal Ivanov, a hulking Spetnatz soldier with a huge RPK rifle in hand and a long bladed machete in a sheath on his back, pushed forward and unleashed a hail of fire into the doors beyond and kicked through, torch flashing on as he swept the gloomy space.

Gesturing with on hand, the Spetnatz soldier moved further in, flipping down his night vision goggles over his face and aiming into the darkness.

Staunton was the next in, L85 at his shoulder, the room lit up for a second by the blinding light of a helicopter passing overhead.

"Through this room and along the corridor until we reach the Grand Armoury. Our target is Vladimir, one of the coven leaders. We take him down; Bravo Team led by Captain Peeters will get the other one, Stefan. If he's not there, we sweep this place from top to bottom until we find him and insert as many rounds in his skull as possible. Move out!"

And with that he was jogging into the building itself and down a tiled corridor, checking the front as his squad came up alongside.

Reaching a heavy oak wood door the captain paused, listening for a second. From above them and in the rooms around, they could hear the movement of the other squads, clearing rooms one by one in the hunt for the Romanian coven. And yet, so far, no shots had been fired.

"Where are they…" he muttered to himself as Rog and Ivanov pushed the doors open and took up positions in the empty corridor beyond. The open space was completely empty and silent, the celling lost in a tide of black shadow.

"Ok we…" Staunton began, but stopped as a bright searchlight swept the room, the light flooding in from windows high up near the ceiling, and showing the huddled forms of dozens of dark figures.

"Holy mother of…" came the voice of one of the soldiers, and before the next word even formed on his lips the vampires began to move.

"Bring them down!" Staunton bellowed, and the entire squad opened fire ,lighting the room up in stabs of orange and white gun flashes, the thunder of gunfire almost deafening the SAS captain as he fired straight up, the confused vampires falling to earth, their ambush attempt foiled as they crashed to the floor.

"Take them down!" Rog ordered, drawing his Magnum and putting explosive rounds through the fallen vampire's heads as they began to stir

The rest of the unit followed suit, and the vampire kill count continued to rise, and only one remained when Staunton reloaded his revolver, staggering to its feet and spitting at him.

"We will kill you all! Sa-ti iau mortii la baieram!" he laughed, and Staunton only sighed as Ivanov rammed his machete into the monsters brain, its diamond tipped blade sinking into the creature's skull with a sickening crack.

"What did the bastard say?" he said, turning to Rog.

"Something about taking all your dead to a party? "the lieutenant said with a grin. "My Romanians a bit rusty. Anyway sir…" he added, visually spinning the cylinder of his revolver as he reloaded it. "Let's go kill some creatures of the night."

A few minutes later and the house was filled with the roar of gunfire, and Staunton's squad had just burst into the ballroom after taking a wrong turn after a pack of vampires almost took out the entire group.

"My God." The captain said as they ran in, to the site of a massacre.

The huge open space of the rectangular room, lit by a trio of lit chandeliers, was painted in blood, splashed on walls like strange modern art, pooling on the tiled marble or seeping into ornate carpet, whilst shredded corpses and abandoned weapons littered the room. None of the bodies were moving, and most were only just recognisable as Ultra Vector soldiers by scraps of black uniform and piles of high calibre shell casings.

Turning back to his squad, many of them almost vomiting at the site of carnage beyond, Staunton tried to keep a straight face and block out the horrors of the room beyond. He picked out the pale face of the squad heavy weapons expert, Private Schmidt, lugging a long barrelled rocket-launcher on his back and snapped an order as the others moved to check the room for any enemies.

"Schmidt, get the STAKE ready. The vampires may return."

The captain felt a slight grin come to his face at the name the Albanian BOS operative had christened his weapon with. In homage to classical vampire folklore, Schmidt had named the strange new weapon the 'Self Targeted Anti Kuthuki Emplacement'. It was a ridiculous name, using the old Albanian term for the creatures of the night, yet had somehow stuck.

As the squad moved across the white marble floor, leaving bloody boot prints on the smooth stone, Staunton whispered softly, in horror and disgust.

"Who could have done a thing like this?"

"We did." Came a voice from across the room, and Staunton and the others turned to face this new opponent, weapons drawn. But, as they beheld this new foe, each man felt a chill pass through them, an abject sense of fear coursing through every fibre of their being.

Watching them from across the room, the two figures both smiled coldy. The two most powerful vampires left alive that Ultra Vector needed to destroy. The creators of the Romanian coven.

Vladimir and Stefan.

It was Vladimir, the shorter of the two, blonde and ashen faced, that spoke first, grinning at the soldiers before him that were all struck dumb.

"Yes, me and Stefan. We destroyed all of these pathetic excuses for warriors. It was so easy…" He added with a grin, casually inspecting his nails as he glanced around the room. "And you too will be put to death, and your blood painted across this room, at least until the rest of the coven arrives to clean up the remains. The only reason that you still stand and are not now being torn apart is because we…"

"…wanted to thank you." Finished the other, Stefan, and yet Staunton wouldn't have noticed, the two men's voices were so alike. With a glimmer in his burgundy eyes, the ancient vampire stared straight at the SAS captain, who unflinchingly returned his gaze. "Without you humans little…crusade, the Volturi would not have been destroyed. I must commend you on that. We very much enjoyed hearing of the firestorm that was once Volterra." He said with a laugh that was piercing and sadistic. "And for that we shall grant you…"

"…another few minutes of life." Vladimir added, instinctively slipping in at the end of the other vampire's sentence. "Of course, theres not a lot you can do to stop us." He said softly, but with a smirk on his face as the two vampires slowly walked across the blood-stained room, their eyes red as they saw the crimson splashes everywhere around them "The last group thought they could, and there was a whole lot more of them than there are of you."

By now the two vampires were metres away, easily within weapons range, but Staunton didn't think for a second they would be able to land a shot upon them. Instead he stepped forward, a defiant look on his face.

"You know you can't escape." He said, absently shifting his rifle to his shoulder. "The whole area for miles around is guarded by the most elite special forces in the whole of Europe, and even now more men will be rushing to aid us in cleansing your filth from the world."

If the two vampires were concerned, neither showed it and Stefan actually laughed again, his tone arrogant and mocking as he replied.

"Escape? My friend, we don't want to escape. We are not the Volturi. We do not want to hide in the shadows like animals. I think that now is the perfect chance for us to take our rightful place as rulers of this world. These 'special forces' of yours are no more than food for my army, light snacks before the vast prizes that await us in the world at large. Vladimir and I will take this whole continent for our own, our personal hunting ground, at the head of an army of the faithful that has never been seen in the history of man or vampire! I believe you may have met the rest of our coven, but I believe you forgot our new group, mainly the good townsfolk of Sinaia. It was, oh, so…glorious! Last night, I, Vladimir and our coven took the village by storm. So much of my age long thirst quenched in one night of unspeakable rapture! It was beautiful and, when we were spent and the townsfolk pale and lifeless it began to happen. The beginning of a vast rising, a wave of unstoppable might. A newborn army to rival any ever created before! And, within the next few hours, that army of over nine thousand men, women and children will rise from the weakness of their former lives and flock to our banner."

Stefan paused, and Staunton was quick to interrupt, fear filling every part of him as the vampires plan became clear.

"And then?"

Both vampires laughed at the same time, and Vladimir turned and looked directly at him, a grin on his face.

"We conquer the world."

As he said this Staunton was already thinking, trying to make some sort of plan whilst the rest of his squad looked on in horror. Reaching a decision, he checked his side holster, a small pistol stuck in it, loaded with a small orange dart. Taking a deep breath, he said slowly, his finger tracing over the handle of the weapon.

"May I have one last request?"

Vladimir nodded slowly, and Staunton produced the pistol, to a laugh from Stefan, who stepped closer, smiling with complete arrogance and self-confidence.

"Look, the Englishman here wants to take his best shot. Do it my friend!" he said with a grin. "Shoot me down."

As the old vampire spread his arms and stood before him, Staunton fired, the tiny dart thudding into the vampires skin, its diamond tip burrowing deep. And yet, as the two vampires both laughed again, ready to savour this next meal, Staunton shouted an order.

"Schmidt the STAKE!"

Schmidt nodded and aimed the weapon upward, firing the rocket off in a plume of smoke that arced up.

"Really?" Stefan said annoyance now obvious in his voice. "You think your human projectiles can keep up with me?"

And with that he disappeared in a blur and was charging across the room. But the rocket still followed, and it was Staunton and the squad's turn to laugh, as the SAS captain said softly.

"My friend…" he said with a sarcastic grin. "Your coven mate is right. My weapon wouldn't be able to catch him, that is, unless I placed a tracer on his body about ten seconds ago…"

Vladimir's face fell in surprise and horror, and began to start forward when he stopped, as an ear piercing scream of anger and pain shrieked out, and a loud explosion was heard from the other side of the room.

"Scratch one vampire." Rog muttered with a grin, and the squad all aimed their weapons at the dumbfounded Vladimir.

"I will…" he began, but was cut off as Staunton shouted an order.

"Take him down!"

Instantly the entire squad opened up, heavy calibre rounds blasting out at the remaining coven leader, who seemed genuinely caught off guard, and for a second was barely able to doge the wall of gunfire.

As the fire abated and the soldiers all frantically reloaded, Vladimir was upon Staunton, lifting him effortlessly in one hand, the others pausing in terror at the vampire's unnatural speed.

"Any last words before I crush your skull into paste?" Vladimir spat, but the SAS captain was unbowed and actually grinned straight at the vampire before him, noticing a slight blur of movement from behind.

"Why yes actually. As Trinity said to the agent in _The Matrix_…"

"Dodge this." Finished Rog, his revolver pressed to Vladimir's head, grinning slightly as he pulled the trigger and the vampire fell to the floor, a gaping hole in the side of his skull. The ancient vampire could only watch as Staunton stood over him.

"This time I'm not going to make a mistake." He said softly. "I'm watching very single moment."

Glancing back to Rog, the captain said.

"Scratch one vampire."

Then he pulled the pin from the grenade in his hand and stepped toward Vladimir.


	7. Chapter 6- The Informant

**United Nations Building, New York 7:00pm**

The halls and corridors of the United Nations Building, and the headquarters of the newly created Ultra Vector taskforce, was quiet and sombre that evening. Outside was a total contrast, buzzing with activity, as Ultra Vector operatives and US Marines patrolled the grounds and nearby streets, the whir of helicopters audible overhead. But inside remained solemn, as the leaders within contemplated what they had done, and what they would need to do, to secure victory.

Whilst the Security Council argued and discussed the next move in the Norwegian Room below, the Secretary General paced the corridors, the European Division leader, General Uberto, at his side and a full squad of Ultra Vector soldiers from the American Division behind, the leader's new personal bodyguard.

Both men had borne witness to the aftermath of the Peles Castle raid, and the subsequent detonation of a tactical nuclear weapon in the town of Sinai, destroying the thousands strong newborn army of the Romanian Coven. And yet, whilist one was almost rejoicing in this new victoiry, the other felt a crushing weight of responsibility.

General Uberto hadn't brought it up until then, as Ultra Vector's de facto leader the Secretary General would not take kindly to those sorts of thoughts. But, as the Secretary General finished talking to one of his aides, Uberto stepped forward and said quietly.

"Sir, I know Sinai was a great victory but…"

"Was it necessary?" the Secretary General finished with a frown. "Of course general. I mean, what was the alternative?"

Uberto sighed. He could still see the live video feed from the retreating Ultra Vector forces, miles away from the town, watching the mushroom cloud blossoming over the horizon. He had been the one to give the go-ahead, the one who had allowed one pilot to condemn over nine thousand people to a fiery death.

The Secretary General suddenly stopped, turning to look Uberto in the eyes, his expression one of sympathy but with a cold edge to it, as if he were somehow ashamed of the general's sorrow.

"Look Uberto, I know what we did may seem awful now, monstrous even, but what would have happened if we had sat back and done nothing? What if that army of crazed vampires had spread? We would have lost thousands, hundreds of thousands to those creatures. Vampirism is a plague general." He added firmly. "And we are the cure."

Uberto looked down, and the Secretary General's expression softened.

"Look, I think we all know you're not fully ready for this post."

Uberto felt his cheeks redden at the thinly veiled insult, but he had to agree. Human enemies he could deal with, but not these monsters, and so he only nodded slightly, and the Secretary General smiled.

"Maybe you would do better helping one of the other divisions start up? There's a post open in the African Division in Johannesburg. They need someone with experience to help train the troops up for their own operations."

"Of course." Uberto conceded. "But who will take over the European Division? I don't think that…"

Already taken care of." Came the reply. "I believe that Captain Staunton, that SAS commander we've heard such glowing reports from, is ready to take over."

The general sighed. The SAS captain may have been a good soldier, but he doubted he was ready for command.

"Sir, I don't know." He said finally. "He's proficient in destroying these things but…"

"But what?" The Secretary General said softly, anger growing in his voice as he continued. "This isn't some sophisticated campaign, general. This is a war of extermination…" he added coldly.

The general nodded. He could see that, whatever he said, he had basically been fired from his job, and that the man before him was actually enjoying it somehow.

"Now, where is the captain at the moment?" The Secretary General said with a smile. "I think the man who took down two of the most powerful vampires in the world should receive this promotion as soon as possible!"

"He's back at his home base in England." The general said slowly. "His leave starts on Monday."

"Perfect! Get someone to visit him and give him his new orders when his leave starts. As for you general…" the Secretary General added dismissively. "Your flight to Cairo is in four hours."

The general was about to turn to leave when he suddenly stopped.

"Cairo? Why not South Africa? I thought this wasn't a combat role?"

"It isn't." came the reply with a slight laugh. "But I figured you would want to witness the destruction of another vampire coven before you started some boring desk job…"

The general was about to leave when a thought struck him.

"Before I go sir, may I just ask one question? Where is this information coming from? What's your source?"

If the Secretary General was annoyed in anyway, he didn't show it, but Uberto detected a subtle sense of anger in the leader's voice as he replied.

"Of course Uberto, I think you should know of our little er…arrangement. Follow me. But remember, what you see isn't exactly public knowledge…"

* * *

They ended up in the basements of the Headquarters, a dimly lit warren of whitewashed brick and fluorescent bulbs, through which the Secretary General strolled through, followed by the brooding figure of Uberto.

After a few minutes of staggering through the maze, Uberto stopped, as they came to a plain service lift, guarded by two black uniformed Ultra Vector soldiers, who saluted firmly as the Secretary General and the Italian officer stepped in, their escort waiting outside as the doors closed shut.

When it was just the two of them the Secretary General spoke again.

"Now you will see the true extent of our organisation general. This particular asset has proved most useful in the campaign. Quite ironic considering its previous allegiance…" he added with a smirk, but the general was silent as they continued to descend.

As the lift slowly reached its destination and the doors opened, Uberto felt a sense of awe at what lay before him.

"That definitely wasn't here before…" he said softly, as he saw the vast space up ahead.

The room, about the size of a small aircraft hangar, was packed with people, mainly Ultra Vector soldiers, but also scientists in lab coats and harried technicians lugging heavy cables and wires.

Earning salutes from every man in the room as he passed them, the Secretary General grinned. Uberto noticed the change in the air as the small man walked past. For someone who had previously just been the boring little man at international conferences, the one everyone just looked upon as useless and a bureaucrat ,it must be a real power trip for him to command this much loyalty, Uberto thought with a frown. Although he didn't have to be so open about it.

By now they had reached the middle of the huge space, and the general looked up to see the imposing form of a ten foot thick steel door, over fifty metres long and studded with countless rivets and slabs of armour plating.

"The door above you is reinforced titanium, with diamond alloys and another compound that I am er…not at liberties to discuss with someone without the right clearance…" he added with a grin.

"My God" Uberto thought. "He's loving every second of this."

But he had no time to think any further on the subject when they came into the other half of the room, and the general saw the strange setup they had.

At the centre of the space was a large circular container, covered in countless danger signs and symbols, with a clear glass viewpoint in the middle, about the same size as a man ,but currently misted over by some sort of greyish gas. The floor within ten metres around it was painted bright yellow, with even more warnings and symbols stamped on, whilist dozens of black uniformed soldiers surrounded it, manning heavy weapon emplacements and hefting large flamethrowers.

"What is this?" Uberto demanded, but the Secretary General ignored him, instead speaking to a nervous looking scientist.

"Doctor, is the subject ready for interrogation? I think my friend the general here would appreciate meeting our informant for the first time."

The doctor only nodded and hurried off to a control panel ,whilist a burly Delta Force operative, carrying a huge anti-material rifle over his shoulder,shouted through a megaphone.

"Form up boys! Form up! Interrogation begins now! Weapons hot!"

As the clatter of weapons being readied echoed across the room, Uberto felt his hand going to the Beretta at his hip

"What is in that container sir?" he said, hoping the fear he felt now wasn't obvious to the soldiers around him.

"Why don't we go find out?" the Secretary General said with a smug grin, and began to walk towards the container.

"This…specimen was recovered after the raid at Piacenza-San Damiano Air Base." The old politician explained as they edged closer to the container. "The men who found it thought it dead, mainly because there was a rifle round embedded in its brain. Somehow though, it survived, although much weaker than it once was, and we've kept it relatively docile by withholding blood or sustenance of any kind, and of course a lot of weaponised knock out gas…"

He smiled grimly as they reached the glass viewport, and tapped on the window.

As he did that a figure slowly emerged through the swirling gas, and Uberto felt his blood run cold as Ultra Vector's best kept secret revealed herself.

"Hello boys…" Jane whispered.

* * *

**Author's Note- Sorry about the late update, real life has been intruding on my writing (Sigh) but hopefully I can get these next chapters up A LOT more often now**

**Anyway thanks for reading and,as always,if you have any questions,criticisms or just plain old praise,please feel free to review or send me a PM and I will respond as soon as possible...**


	8. Chapter 7- The City Of The Dead

**Cairo Necropolis, Egypt 3:00pm**

The packed streets of Cairo flowed beneath the Egyptian Air Force Blackhawk in a river of dirty browns and sand flecked concrete. The air convoy, made up of five Blackhawks and two ponderous Mi-8 transport helicopters, flew low over the city, causing many in the streets below to look up at the thundering aircraft in awe.

Sat in the command helicopter at the centre of the convoy, General Uberto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the hot desert sun beating down on them from above. Even with both cabin doors open and the helicopter's aging air conditioning on full blast, everyone was feeling the heat, even the native Egyptians on board. It was a mixed group that Uberto was observing, one of the first Ultra Vector forces on the continent. To his left was the current commander, General Abassi Ajamu, a leading member of the Nigerian Quick Response Force, or QRF, a thin and wiry older veteran, who was currently polishing a diamond tipped machete over his knees, every so often giving Uberto a tired smile. This was the first official Ultra Vector operation in Africa, but it wasn't the first engagement they had had. The man to Uberto's right, the imposing Colonel Mohammad Hassan of the Egyptian Unit 777, had filled the general in on the problems this unit had already faced.

As Staunton and the European Division had been storming Peles Castle, the African Division had received their 'baptism of fire' as many survivors called it, when their original base a few miles out from Johannesburg had come under attack by a coven calling themselves 'The Hounds of the Lord', a hundred strong force of crazed African vampires. They had come at night, easily destroying the defences still under construction and had run amok in the camp.

"It was hell." Was the only thing that most of the soldiers who survived said about it. Many had told Uberto about having to kill all their squad mates, after the vampires sought to 'convert' every human they could find.

One story though, stuck in the general's head. The story of how General Ajamu, heavy grenade launcher in one hand and 50 calibre customized FN-FAL in the other, drenched in the blood of his dead comrades, cut a swathe through the vampire horde. Everyone in the unit agreed that one moment had been the point when the general had snapped, when he had become quiet and reserved, when he had once been bombastic and larger than life. In a way Uberto identified with him, although the Nigerian had been able to keep his position, largely due to the fact most of the other African Division commanders had been killed in the attack.

This operation then, was payback, of sorts. Here, in Cairo's sprawling city cemetery and slum, known colloquially as the City of the Dead, they had received intelligence that the remains of the powerful Egyptian Coven were amassing their forces. Uberto wouldn't allow Cairo to go the same way as Volterra and Sinia, and this view was shared by the rest of the taskforce, who were also eager to hit back at the vampire race that had robbed their unit of many veteran soldiers.

As the helicopters continued to whir over the streets below, General Ajamu finally spoke, his voice level and quiet but filled with a clear authority which made every man go silent.

"Alright men, this is our payback." He said bluntly. "Johannesburg was a disaster, one I don't ever want to repeat and ,to that end, if we can get this job done, the rest will be easy to overcome."

As he said this the soldier sat next to him started passing around small photographs to each man, four for each, and he kept speaking as Uberto and the others studied the pictures.

"These are our targets. The priority is Amun, number one." He added, and Uberto flipped through to the first photo ,taken from afar by one of Ultra Vector's hidden scout units, , displaying a handsome middle aged Egyptian man with an impressive coal black beard and dark eyes, empty and pitiless.

"We take him down, the job is basically done." The general added. "But of course, there are others. Numbers two to four are Kebi, Tia and the last, and possibly most dangerous, Benjamin."

Uberto looked through the photos, as did every other man, committing them to memory. Kebi ,Amun's mate, according to the intelligence, was stunningly beautiful, with a wave of dark hair cascading around her shoulders, but with a face that was emotionless and pale. Her eyes conveyed less emotion than a psychopath's. Tia,on the other hand, although pale and with the same otherworldly look all the vampires had, seemed much less monstrous to Uberto, mainly because she looked similar to Uberto's own wife. Then again, Maria wasn't an undead monster, Uberto thought with a slight grin.

"Word from command is that the leader's mate, Kebi, could be a problem." Ajamu said softly. "Far as we can tell, she's completely devoted to him. Obsessed even. And obsession is a dangerous thing." He added darkly.

"Sir?" one of the other soldiers said firmly, raising a hand.

As the general nodded slowly, the burly Unit 777 operative spoke.

"Sir, what makes the fourth one…Benjamin, so dangerous?"

Ajamu sighed.

"Command didn't give us any specifics, but one of our forward scouts mentioned something about…sorcery was the only way he could describe it. There's some unnatural power behind that creature." He added with a grimace.

Each man nodded of them had lost friends and comrades to the vampires, and all were determined to get revenge for their fallen brethren.

"Anyway, enough with the briefing. Now for the actual plan." The general said shortly, as the helicopter began to descend and hover above a block of dilapidated flats, right in the heart of the Cairo Necropolis.

As he said this the sounds of the other helicopters stopping could be heard, as well as the distinct sound of men rappelling down to the streets below, shouted orders and clatters of weapons echoing in the streets below.

"As we speak, Squads Alpha to Echo is moving on the target's last known location, the tomb complex of the Kabir family, near the central Qaitbay Mosque. Once there their orders are simple. Kill every last vampire in the area. At the moment a cordon has been set up by the local police, so there should be no civilians within the area of operations."

Uberto frowned and interrupted.

"With all due respect general, I don't think those police will be able to stop any vampires from escaping."

Ajamu grinned.

"Well we had better hope my men hunt down every last one of them…"

It had been half an hour, and still no word on the operation beyond scattered reports from squad commanders, all negatives on finding any vampires. Colonel Hassan turned to Uberto.

"Is it normal for these operations to take this long ,general?"

Uberto frowned.

"My men never took this long, but they had had more experience in fighting these freaks. I guess it's just taking a while to hunt the bastardos down…"

The other soldier looked convinced, but Uberto was still uneasy, then his thoughts were interrupted by the crackle of the radio, which Hassan quickly grabbed the receiver for.

"This is command…" he began, but was cut off by the shouting voice on the other end.

"Command this is Captain Mbembe. We have a…"

The captain's voice was drowned out then as gunfire rattled out from all over the necropolis, echoing over the buildings around them.

"Captain, this is Command, please report!" Hassan demanded, but then there was an earsplitting crack over the radio, as if of bone, and the only response was a high pitched whine of static.

For a second there was silence, only the incessant burst of gunfire from below, then each one was being silenced, one by one.

Then it was complete chaos, Hassan practically screaming into the radio, the other soldiers preparing weapons and checking equipment, whilst Ajamu stood perfectly still by the open cabin doors, one hand holding onto a roof handle, the other holding his machete ,staring outside.

Then he was gone.

There was a dark blur and the general had disppeared, and by the time Uberto had realised what the general's mystery attacker was, it was far too late.

"Vampires!" he roared but then there was a crunch of metal from above, and the sound of the engines dying as dark figures were momentarily visible on the sides of the helicopter.

"Brace yourselves!" shouted a nearby soldier, moments before he fell out the sides, as the aircraft went into a spin toward the ground. The last Uberto saw were two more men being sucked out the side, the air full of screams and prayers as the helicopter plunged and then…

Silence.

* * *

The general slowly opened his eyes, aware of a sharp pain in his face, and of blacking out what felt like hours ago. As the colours around him swam into focus he saw Colonel Hassan standing over him, fist raised, which he quickly lowered as he saw the general awake.

"Sorry about that." He said with a weak grin. "Had to smack you around a bit before you woke up…"

Taking the proffered hand, Uberto stood up, feeling a stab of pain in every part of him.

"Nothings broken." Hassan stated bluntly. "At least, not yet…"

The general had no time to ponder what the colonel meant as he looked around at a scene of devastation.

The wrecked helicopter was nearby, lying at an impossible angle in the side of a building, painted with crimson and grey dust and concrete rubble. There were at least a dozen corpses laid around it, which the rest of the squad were setting into rows, before covering with crude shrouds made from ripped tarpaulins and bin bags, trying not to break down at the loss of so many of their comrades.

"How many?" Uberto said softly, as Hassan handed him a heavy automatic shotgun, loaded with explosive slug rounds.

"Ten." Hassan said softly. "Including the pilot. We couldn't find any sign of the general."

"So what's the plan then?"

Hassan smirked.

"Me? With all due respect general…"

"You know the terrain better than me colonel. What would you recommend?"

The colonel looked unsure for a second, then sighed as he looked up at the suspiciously empty skies above.

"Well it seems the vampires have taken out all our air units. I don't think we ever realised the bastards could jump that high…I don't think we have time to wait for an air evac from elsewhere either. We may have shaken off the ones who attacked us earlier ,but there must be others nearby."

Uberto laughed humourlessly.

"I guess this coven's bigger than just four vampires then?"

Hassan smirked slightly, but was soon serious again.

"Ok, our only option is to make for the police cordon and get reinforcements. We severely underestimated the enemy this time around. It'll take the full division to clear this nest of vipers…" he added as he loaded his M4 carbine with a grim smile.

And without another word the entire squad, the seven survivors of the helicopter squad, clutching their weapons to them, their black uniforms and armour battered and torn, ran into the silent maze beyond.

* * *

For five minutes the only sound in the City of the Dead was the survivors of the Ultra Vector force, seven bruised and injured human soldiers, panting and sweating as they ran onwards, until their leader, the red faced Hassan, suddenly held up a fist, the squad clattering to a halt behind him.

Uberto craned his eyes to the rooftops above, expecting a silent ambush at any point, his shotgun clenched in both hands.

"Where are…" he began, then stopped insatntly, as an inhuman howl pierced the afternoon quiet, echoeing across the empty slum.

As if in answer to the call, yet more shrieks sounded from all around, and every man in the squad was aiming outwards ,expecting an attack at any moment.

"What the hell are they doing?" said one South African commando, his R4 assault rifle held in unwavering hands.

"Hunting call." Uberto said firmly. "Trying to scare us."

"All the more reason to go now. They'll be on us in minutes." Hassan said firmly, and they set off at a run, Hassan and Uberto at the front, shadows already visible moving across the nearby rooftops.

Uberto was sweating underneath his body armour, shotgun heavy in his hands. He silently cursed the Secretary General for sending him here, cursed the UN for starting this crusade ,and of course the entire vampire race for continuing this madness.

The general was so busy cursing others that he failed to notice the shadows dropping around them as they emerged in a rubbish strewn marketplace, already filled with the corpses of previous Ultra Vector troops. First he knew of the vampires surrounding them was Hassan, his M4 gone and his Magnum drawn, machete in the other hand standing ready to face the enemy.

"Allah Akbar!" he roared as he took the head off a screaming vampire dressed in flowing rags with one shot, his diamond tipped machete piercing the skull of another, before three vampire women in threadbare dresses pulled him apart in a blast of crimson and one single piercing scream.

As one the rest of the squad rushed forward to avenge their leader, emptying bursts of automatic gunfire into the horde, tearing limbs off and blasting gaping bullet holes into the monster's skin. Uberto was amongst them, crouched in front of a howling Moroccan Marine, his RPK light machine gun spitting death as Uberto peppered the advancing vampires with explosive slugs and Italian curses.

And yet it just wasn't enough. For each crazed vampire they tore to shreds, more would come until suddenly, with no warning, the vampires retreated and the four surviving Ultra Vector soldiers looked on, wide eyed.

"What the…"Uberto began, having cast aside his now empty shotgun and drawn his Magnum, but was silenced, along with the others as, emerging from the gun smoke, came one figure that none of them would have ever wanted to encounter, and the sight of which promised nothing but swift death.

Spreading his arms wide in an almost friendly gesture, ignoring the weapons leveled at him, the figure then spoke.

"Miss me?"

Then Caius leapt forward, and tore them apart.


	9. Chapter 8- He is Risen

**RAF Hereford, England 8:00pm**

Captain Staunton sat at the back of the empty bus, his beret in his lap, watching the military base beyond flowing past outside. The whole place was still operating, and was even busier than he remembered Camp Bastion had been during the height of the Afghan war. Columns of black uniformed soldiers marched past in full kit, accomapanied by jet black Humvees, loaned by the American Division to replace the lightly armoured Land Rovers the SAS normally used. As Staunton watched the lights from the base blaze out into the night, he heard the thunder of engines and a huge Boeing C-17 Globemaster roared overhead to land in the airfield beyond.

Never before had he seen this place at such a frantic pace, not even during the buildup to Peles Castle and the mad rush to get troops out to the Italian airbase after the destruction at Volterra had there been such a rush of activity. The SAS captain still remembered the discussion he had had with the rest of his squad, after they had got over the horrors of Peles Castle and its subsequent destruction, how this conflict could only escalate further.

He didn't know how really. All he had been hearing from friends in other units had been positive. His friend Takeo in the 707th Battalion from South Korea had been updating him on progress in Asia, where they had been almost constantly on operations to clear jungles and ancient ruins of vampire populations fleeing from the unlikely alliance of both North and South Korean, Chinese and Indian special forces, along with countless other small units. Across the Atlantic, word from a contact in the Canadian Special Operations Regiment had also been equally uplifting, where a large scale operation in Washington State had destroyed the reclusive Olympic Coven and its werewolf allies, which to be honest nobody in Ultra Vector had expected, although word was another separate unit was being prepared to root out the so called 'Children of the Moon'.

For the European Division, however, things didn't seem as successful. He had received news of General Uberto's death in the failed clearing of the Egyptian coven which, by the time a seven thousand strong relief force, composed of both European and African Ultra Vector and regular army troops had been deployed, the vampire army had caused chaos and destruction across the entirety of Cairo. In all the total death count were over four thousand men, women and children and still rising, as the masses of humans infected were swiftly put down. Staunton couldn't see how the 'Cairo Incident' would be resolved, although for the UN task force anything seemed possible, as Volterra and Peles Castle had somehow been covered up despite the smoking craters they had become.

But he pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind as the bus turned into the small housing estate for the families of the SAS personnel. Staunton had seen so much death and madness in the past week to last him for a lifetime, and only the knowledge that his wife Samantha and four year old daughter Lucy were safe and well, and waiting for him right there at his house at the end of the road brought a smile to the face of the stony faced officer. As the bus slowed at the stop Staunton picked up his heavy kitbag from under his seat and walked to the exit doors, nodding at the elderly driver, a veteran soldier who had fought during the Iranian Embassy siege thirty years ago, and stepping off.

As the bus drove off and he stood alone in the cool night air under the bright streetlamp, Staunton took a deep breath. Above the full moon rode high in the dark sky above, lighting up the empty street with a silvery hue.

Hearing a rustling in the bushes nearby Staunton put a hand to the Magnum at his belt instinctively but stopped as a small bird flew off into the night.

"Getting jumpy there…" he muttered to himself with a grin and set off down the street, the cold night air coming out of his mouth in faint clouds of vapour.

Strolling along the street, the SAS captain felt as if a great weight had been taken from his shoulders. For now, safe within one of the most heavily guarded installations in Britain, he could finally relax, if only for a while. He knew that the campaign wouldn't stop anytime soon, but at least, for a day or two, he was back home with his girls, and he was determined to enjoy their company for as long as he could.

Reaching the familiar detached house at the end of the street, Staunton strolled down the garden path, past Samantha's old Vauxhall Astra and up to the familiar wood front door. Unlocking it quietly and stepping inside Staunton closed it behind him and called out.

"Sam! Lucy! I'm home!"

He shrugged at the silence. Samantha had probably fallen asleep in front of the TV again with Lucy after waiting for him. He knew how anxious she got when he was out on tour, and the fact he had disappeared overnight to fight in Italy, with only a letter from the regiment commander about 'unexpected events' to explain his absence, he understood her anxiety. However now, with him home and their little family complete, for however little time he had, Staunton knew her mind would be at ease again.

As he walked down the gloomy hallway though, he sensed something amiss in the air, something that smelt weird and out of place. Despite himself, he felt a finger instinctively reach for the pistol at his belt.

Pushing open the door to the kitchen, the SAS captain tried to relax. Samantha and Lucy were probably just about to spring a surprise party on him, like they had last time he came back from Afghanistan. It hadn't been anything big, only the three of them and a cheap cake from the local Sainsbury's but it had just felt so good to the tough soldier to actually sit down with his family and try and be normal.

What he saw when he entered the kitchen though, nothing could have prepared him for.

As he flicked on the light, he felt himself doing a double take before his mind finally caught up with what his body was experiencing. The raw emotions he felt as he looked at the room could barely be contained within him, but the only word that could come to his mouth was a simple.

"No." he said softly as he looked straight forwards, and again, repeated over and over again like a quiet mantra, barely conveying the emotions boiling to the surface.

But still it was there.

The blood.

So much of it. Daubed on the walls like a crazy piece of modern art, the crimson paste had been literally thrown everywhere.

Staunton had never seen so much blood in his life.

And he knew only two people would have been at his house at this time.

Right at the centre of the crimson mess in the trashed room, he could see three words, carved into the wall by unnatural strength, deep gouges like the ones already gathering in Staunton's soul.

He is risen.

The words were almost mocking him as he moved forward, not even caring if the undead monster that made them was nearby. All he knew was, if one did jump him, vampire or not, he would tear its throat out in a heartbeat. These freaks had killed the only family he had left and only given him pain and suffering in return.

He found Samantha's head in the corner by the smashed up oven, casually left there as if it was some kind of sick gift to him. It was only as he went towards it, with no real idea what he would do when he reached it, that he saw the piece of paper stuffed in its mouth, rammed in as far as it would go.

Gently lifting it out, barely holding back tears, Staunton opened it up and felt his heart sink even further. On the bloodstained paper was a drawing he remembered Lucy making before he left for Italy, the word 'Daddy' drawn out in the unmistakable handwriting of a four year old writing in orange crayon.

He turned it over, and felt a wave of rage and sorrow overcome him as he looked down at, drawn in the same orange crayon, but in different handwriting.

"Boom…" he said softly, reading off the paper, then crumpled it up slowly and hurled it away.

Taking off his black field uniform he tenderly laid it out over Samantha's severed head, closing her eyes with two fingers before kissing her on the forehead.

That's when he broke.

With tears flowing freely down his face, he carefully took his radio from his belt and pressed the red panic button on the top.

The next thing he knew he had slid down the trashed oven and just sat in a heap, tears now staining his once hard face.

However long it had been he didn't know but, as the sound of sirens, engines and the whir of a helicopter filled his ears from outside, the broken SAS captain had ears for only one voice, which now came towards him.

"Daddy?"

Looking up, Staunton almost forgot about the horror he had just witnessed, but when he saw the crimson in his daughter's eyes as she stood in the doorway, he could barely bring his right hand to reach for his holster and draw his weapon, aiming it in firm hands straight at his only child's forehead.

"I'm sorry…" he said softly and fired.

* * *

The Rapid Reaction Force broke through the door a second later, their leader Commander Miller of the Russian Spetnatz first through, his heavy Saiga automatic shotgun raised. The rest of the squad behind him he led the way forward, ready for anything as they heard a volley of shots from the kitchen up ahead.

But what he saw as he barreled into that kitchen he would never had expected.

The SAS captain was rocking back and forth, his empty Magnum lying next to his trembling hands, a small unmoving body a few centimeters from him, an expression of pure hunger on the young girl's angelic features.

"Sir?" Miller said softly, putting away the commission papers he had been about to hand the soldier, the promotion this man would never have wanted. The burly Spetnatz man didn't have the heart to tell the defeated SAS captain that he had just received word from command that they were to move at first light in the morning.

All he did was crouch down next to the captain, his gun clattering to the floor and, to the complete surprise of the rest of the squad, who knew Miller as a cold hearted bastard at the best of times, did one thing that they never would have thought he would ever do.

He embraced him.

Holding him close, the bearlike soldier didn't say anything, only listened to the heartbreaking sobs of this man, who had been completely destroyed in a matter of minutes.

In-between the sobs though, Miller could just make out one phrase, which Staunton just kept repeating, over and over again.

He is risen.


	10. Chapter 9- A Means to an End

**The Demeter, Atlantic Ocean 11:00pm**

"Here lie the ruins of Volterra, a city torn apart by a suspicious…"

"…and no word from the town itself, with any hope of survivors…"

"New questions have been raised about the Cairo Necropolis riots, and the brutal methods used to put them down."

"Just why did the Romanian government build a nuclear reactor near the town of…"

"Beijing remains silent on the issue of the so called 'lost villages' in the northern provinces after sightings of black helicopters and shadowy soldiers in the area around…"

"Activity around RAF Hereford has increased in the past few days, with accusations of large scale military build-up firmly denied by the Ministry of Defence..."

"As protestors surround the heavily guarded UN Headquarters here in New York, sightings of the UN's shadowy new counter terrorism unit are still coming in…"

"The siege of the mansion near Forks, Washington, was brought its violent end as black uniformed soldiers descended upon it at…"

"Radiation from the Volterra reactor explosion still spreads, and the hundred mile exclusion zone remains impenetrable to independent science and research units…"

"…and this begs the question, just what is the UN hiding from the outside world?"

Caius tapped the off button on the remote and the ten television screens arrayed around him faded to black.

A grin came to his pale features as the hundreds of news reports he had seen in the past few days all buzzed around his memory and he thought of the media frenzy the UN would be subject to. Now was the perfect time, as the humans fought amongst themselves, to finally strike back a blow for the vampire race.

It had been a few days since he had personally infiltrated the human base in England to get a more personal style of revenge for himself. And it had felt so good, to feast upon that arrogant SAS captain's family, and leave him a little parting gift for when he got back. It hadn't exactly been hard to find out where he lived; now his new ally had presented himself, willingly, to him back during the sandy hell of Egypt.

It had been so easy to convert him, Caius thought as he threw on his heavy black cloak from the chair behind and stood up. So easy to promise that miserable wretch his life in exchange for his undying loyalty. The fact he had offered him so much crucial intelligence only made the deal sweeter.

He stiffened for a second as his vampire sense picked out the footsteps of his new ally in the corridor outside, whilist the sea still frothed around the ship as it ploughed on.

By the time the newcomer had knocked on the door Caius was right next to it, grinning triumphantly as it opened and the other man stepped in.

"Ah General, it is good to see you…" he said with a warm smile.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lord." General Uberto replied with a blank face, bowing slightly.

Caius smirked.

"Enough snivelling Uberto. You may have been useful so far, but don't think I haven't forgotten your previous allegiance…"

He left the threat hanging, but the sight of the former Ultra Vector general, sweating profusely, unshaven face pale and his black uniform still streaked with sand and dirt, only brought another smile to his face as he stepped out into the narrow corridor.

"Follow." He said simply and set off at a brisk walk along the dimly lit passage, moonlight spilling in from the grimy portholes on the right. The beaten up container ship was the sort of thing Caius wouldn't have been seen dead in during the glory days. The memory of his elegant galleon from over four hundred years ago was still fresh in his mind, a gift from Pope Urban VIII himself, as well as the more modern yacht he had settled with in recent years. Of course both were long gone now, the galleon destroyed by the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, after centuries of service, whilst the yacht had been seized and burnt by Ultra Vector forces after the revelation of his escape from the battle at the airfield in some foolish attempt to bring him out of hiding.

This old ship though was only a means to an end, stolen from Istanbul harbour after his flight from Cairo. He knew that Ultra Vector still hunted him, and had made sure he left Cairo as soon as the military reinforcements had arrived, taking with him the beginnings of his new army.

"What is the plan my lord?" Uberto stuttered as he fell into step behind him. The general was wasting away, a combination of being the only human on a ship filled with vampires who would, in a second, have torn him apart if it wasn't for Caius' influence, and the fact the ship carried no provisions of any sort. But Caius didn't care if the weak human was starving and slowly dying of thirst. He was, like the creaking ship around them, only a means to an end, and would be disposed of as soon as he was no longer useful. In many ways Caius loathed the man next to him. Not because he was a human or even because of his prior allegiance, although that was a small factor. It was the cowardice the general had shown when Caius had approached him in the blood soaked streets of Cairo, surrounded by the dead and dying members of his squad. He had instantly dropped his weapon as soon as the vampire came toward them, and, whilst his comrades tried futilely to fight the ancient vampire and were quickly destroyed, prostrated himself before Caius and begged for his life, even going as far as executing one of his dying comrades as a sign of loyalty.

Caius may have hated Ultra Vector and its agents like the SAS captain whose life he had torn apart, but he respected them at least. The soldiers he had encountered had gone to their deaths fighting, not fallen to their knees and begged forgiveness.

He sighed as he glanced at Uberto, and was brought back to his senses when another figure appeared, Amun,the leader of the Egyptian coven, who had been quick to join Caius' cause as the humans closed in. The burly form of Amun, dressed in an elegant maroon cloak, reminded Caius of Uberto in many ways. Amun had also betrayed his former friends, many centuries ago, when the Volturi and Egyptian coven had been on the brink of war, and Caius had never been able to look him in the eye since.

"What is it?" he snapped. He had no time for either of these men.

"My lord…" Amun began with a nervous smile. "We are nearing our final destination."

Caius nodded.

"Good. How are the others?"

"Holding up well…" Amun replied as they continued down the corridor. "The blood of the former crew proved an excellent aperitif to the great feast that awaits us."

"And you really think you are permitted to join this plan of mine?"

Amun's face fell.

"But…my lord. You promised me and my kin a place in the new world you are creating…"

"Yes." Caius said shortly. "But there is no place for cowards and weaklings in my army. Isn't that right general?"

Uberto laughed nervously, obviously not getting Caius' implied meaning.

"I assure you my lord." Amun said with a frown. "My coven will fight every step of the way. Benjamin's powers are already…"

Caius held up a hand.

"Spare me the grovelling. You will fight for me, but until you have proved yourself, your place in the new world is not assured."

"I assure you…"

"Enough!" Caius snapped, his eyes blazing. "Now, take me to the hold. I need to rally the troops…"

* * *

As they came to the hold door Caius felt the ship throbbing beneath them through the deckplates, and sensed their destination was near.

Ignoring the other two, he stepped into the hold, instantly leaping up to the balcony overlooking the gloomy room beyond. Although human eyes would not have been able to pick out the vampires gathered below him in the pitch black, Caius could see them clear as day, and saw their awe at their leader as he began to speak.

"My friends!" he declared, spreading his arms wide to address them all. "We stand now, not as the broken remnants of the old world order, but the vanguards of a new one! For too long we have dwelt in the shadows, hiding ourselves from the weak cattle that are humanity. We waited too long, and they rose up to fight us, more powerful than ever before. And yet, what are they? Weak. Small. Impotent."

With each word he said against the humans he slammed his fist into the iron railing in front of him, slowly bending it out of shape.

"And what are we though? We are strong. Fast. Powerful. Invincible!"

Glancing behind he saw Uberto and Amun, the Italian general looking around him with wide eyes, almost blind in the darkness.

"Step forward general." He said softly and Uberto stumbled over, Caius catching him gently before he fell, drawing him close in a tight grip.

"Here I stand with one of them. The enemy. And look upon him my friends! What is he? Without his guns and fancy technology he is nothing but an insect compared to us! Let me show you…"

Uberto's face was beginning to grow pale as Caius saw in the man's eyes that he had only just realised the danger he was in. He struggled but Caius grip was too strong as his other hand reached down and squeezed the general's right hand, giving him a comforting smile.

The general smiled back, as if he was somehow safe now.

Then Caius' grip tightened and, in one smooth movement, tore the general's hand off in a burst of crimson, his howls of pain echoing around the cavernous space. As the general fell to his knees, clutching his ravaged stump, Caius held his bloody hand aloft for all to see.

"See here!" he roared triumphantly. "See how he is nothing but an ant to us! An insect! Insignificant!"

And with that he turned to the weeping general, who feebly attempted to crawl away, grabbed him in one hand and hurled him down to the hold floor below.

"Feast my friends!" he shouted over the crack of bone and screams of pleasure as the vampires below tore the human apart. "For that is but a taste of the great banquet that lies in wait for us!"

As he said this the huge cargo doors that made the roof opened up with a creak of metal and Caius felt the cool night air on his skin. He looked down, where hundreds of pairs of blood red eyes watched his every move in awe, then to the view beyond, over the tangle of pipes and crates littering the ship's deck, to the lights of a city in the distance, beyond the rolling sea.

"Gaze upon this my friends!" he said with a laugh of triumph. "For this is the day we make Ultra Vector pay! The day we show them who rules this world! And the day we burn New York City to the ground!"


	11. Chapter 10- The Big Bluff

**Empire State Building, New York 12:00am**

Midnight in New York and the city was still buzzing with activity. Nowhere was this more apparent than at the famous Empire State Building skyscraper, only a mile away from the Ultra Vector stronghold at the UN Headquarters.

And yet this was no late night party or midnight launch event, instead the street outside resembled a warzone. Lanes of abandoned cars lay strewn across the street outside the towering building, a few crumpled bodies and patches of blood evidence of those who hadn't managed to escape. One of the city's distinctive yellow taxi cabs had literally been inserted into the road, driven downward with such force that it stuck, bonnet first, like a strange piece of sculpture. At the ends of the roads a blaze of blue and red lights marked the police cordon, as NYPD officers and SWAT units hunkered down by police cruisers and fire engines with heavy assault rifles, others in full riot gear pushing back a huge crowd all watching with a weird mix of awe and fear.

Amongst the crowd were dozens of news crews and reporters from a myriad of networks, from Fox News to the BBC, all pushing to get a shot of the devastation beyond.

At the very front, right next to a National Guard Humvee, Pandora Heal, veteran CNN correspondent for ten years, brushed back her short blonde hair and checked her appearance in a pocket mirror as her cameraman tried to get a good shot of the street beyond. Hearing the harried voice of her producer, currently sat in his van amongst at least ten others at the back of the crowds, she readied herself for the story of a lifetime.

"Breaking news." She declared to the camera as the operator gave her a thumbs up. "Terror in Manhattan as an unknown group of terrorists burst out onto this street only ten minutes ago. Eyewitness reports are sketchy and filled with talk of super strength and pale phantoms but the facts remain clear as a heavy NYPD presence shows that, whoever they are, these guys mean business."

Her next comment was lost as the crowd behind parted to let a convoy of ten unmarked black Humvees past, which stopped at the police barrier, Pandora and the others looking on with a mixture of curiosity and unease as a black uniformed soldier in thick body armour stepped out, his face unreadable behind a black balaclava and red beret.

"Move this barrier." He declared simply, and the pale faced NYPD officers quickly set to work, pushing aside the armoured SWAT van that lay in the convoy's path.

Sensing an exclusive Pandora stepped forward, thrusting her microphone in the soldiers face with a grin.

"Care for an interview sir?"

The soldier turned, his eyes impassive except for a slight tinge of anger.

"No comment miss." He replied bluntly.

As he walked away the reporter grinned again, arms folded.

"Oh sorry, do Ultra Vector not give interviews these days?"

At the mention of that name, which one of Pandora's colleagues had broken the story of a few hours ago, after photos emerged of the battle in Forks, the soldier visibly stiffened and turned back towards the reporter, hand on a large revolver holstered at his hip.

"If I were you miss." He stated coldly. "I wouldn't be shouting that name in the street."

And with that he was gone as the convoy swept past and up the street, grabbing onto the side of one of the Humvees and being driven away as casually as someone hails a taxi.

* * *

As the convoy reached the entrance to the Empire State Building itself it screeched to a halt as the troops disembarked, four from each vehicle. The forty strong unit came to a halt at the smashed glass doors and the unit commander, Captain James Seward, a burly giant of a man, turned to address them.

"Ok men this might possibly be our biggest task yet. Forks and Anchorage are nothing compared to this. The fact they struck right here, right here, only a mile away from headquarters, that's showing something. Either these monsters have a death wish, or there's something bigger at work here."

The men of his unit nodded as they made last checks on their weapons. Like the other multinational divisions, these soldiers had chosen their own weapons, with everything from HK16 assault rifles to heavy M60 machine guns and even the STAKE rocket launcher, so named since the destruction of the Romanian vampires at the hands of the formidable weapon.

At a simple nod from the captain, the unit moved in, Seward snapping off orders to the squad leaders as they passed him.

The entrance hall beyond was brightly lit as the unit rushed in, instantly two squads peeling off to check the first floor.

"Ok we do this floor by floor gentlemen." Seward ordered. "My squad, along with Sergeant Johnson's will head to the top floor and work downwards. Squads A to E will do the opposite whilst the others head to the second top floor after us."

As he finished the troops around him gave one last salute before disappearing to their assigned positions.

Strolling confidently forward, hand resting on his DAO 'Streetsweeper' shotgun, the captain stepped over the remains of a security guard, literally torn limb from limb.

"Monsters." He said softly as he pressed the call button for the lift, the rest of his squad, and Sergeant Johnson's, formed up behind him.

"So, do you think it was him?" one of his men, Private Cameron, said as he checked his rifle nervously.

"Who?" the captain replied, watching the lift's slow progress from the twentieth floor downwards as the floor buttons flashed in sequence.

"You know…the big guy…Caius."

As the young soldier said this Seward grabbed him by the arm and slammed him against the wall.

"Look private, that name is not the best one to be blurting out around here. That Volturi fuck is still at large so I would appreciate if you kept your little ideas to yourself until we clear this building. I still can't believe the vampires would have the balls to pull off a scheme like this." He added as he let the other man go.

"Lifts only a floor away sir." Said another soldier nearby and Seward nodded.

This night was already weird enough for him. He just wanted to get the whole thing over with and get back out there destroying covens and monsters, not spending the next few hours clearing an entire skyscraper of what might only be one rogue vampire.

But as the lift doors opened and the twenty soldiers somehow managed to squeeze themselves in, the captain's only thoughts were of what horrors they would find, one hundred stories up.

* * *

As the lift shuddered to a halt and the doors opened, the first part of Seward's unit were out, torches on and weapons raised as they moved to clear the dark corridor. With the shouts of the soldiers in front declaring each room and office to be empty Seward moved out, Johnson at his side, shotgun raised.

And yet there was nothing to be found up here and, as the whir of news helicopters outside became louder, Seward walked slowly down the corridor, passing two soldiers crouched down by a mutilated corpse, then another two leaving another empty room, sighing slightly as if they had missed out on something.

He barely noticed Corporal Harrison run up to him, pushing up a pair of night vision goggles as he declared, his face pale.

"Sir, there's an unidentified operative in the office a few rooms down."

Seward nodded and started down the corridor, beckoning for the two soldiers he had just passed to follow, Harrison quickly falling into step behind. He broke into a run as he heard footsteps in the room up ahead, sprinting forward and kicking open the office door, shotgun raised.

"Oh shit…" he cursed slowly as he saw the office interior, lit up by light spilling in from a broken window at the end.

In front of him lay four corpses, all security guards, their sidearms lying next to them along with a few scattered bullet casings. And there, on the wall, daubed in bright crimson, were four words.

The UN will burn.

"Shit shit shit." Seward said as he ran to the window and looked out, just in time to see a shadowy figure disappearing away across a nearby rooftop.

Grabbing a scoped rifle off one of his squad, he set his eye to the scope, just in time to see the figure look back and grin, his blonde hair and black cloak whipping in the wind.

"Caius." He stated and grabbed Harrison, who was looking on dumbly.

"Get on the radio now corporal. This day just got a whole lot worse. Caius is here, in New York. We need immediate backup. Get them to call everyone. The Asians, the Europeans, I don't care but we need to stop that madman now before he gets there."

"Where?" Harrison said as he grabbed his radio from his belt.

The captain shook his head sorrowfully and pointed, out of the broken window, to the lights of the UN headquarters beyond.


	12. Chapter 11- New World Order

**United Nations Headquarters, New York 1:30am**

At the gates to the towering UN building, the protestors still packed the street outside as grim faced NYPD riot police kept them back and US Marines watched from behind the new banded steel fence, topped with razor wire and reinforced with titanium and military grade armour plating. There were hundreds there, clutching banners and placards, some demanding answers, others justice, the words 'Remember Volterra' and 'We want the truth' the most common slogans.

As a South Korean Blackhawk helicopter roared overhead, searchlight sweeping the grounds and street beyond, snipers leaning out of the sides with high powered anti material rifles, the crowd's frenzied protest only got louder. But what really set them off was the sight of a black limousine, unmarked except for a small Union Jack flying from the bonnet and escorted by two green Humvees, that came sweeping past and up to the armoured gates, where two M1 Abrams battle tanks sat, gunners leaning out of the top hatches.

"Murderers!" screamed a female protestor as she hurled a water balloon over her head. But it wasn't water which hit the lead Humvee.

It was blood.

Although only animal blood it was still enough for four black uniformed Ultra Vector soldiers to rush forward and push her to the ground, slamming a pair of handcuffs on her and pushing the protestor into the arms of two speechless riot police, batons extended and daring anyone to attack them.

The rest of the crowd recoiled in disgust from the bloody protest, as its cackling architect was hauled into a nearby police van, but some positively enjoyed it.

Right in the centre of the crowd, hood over his pale features, grinning at his own audacity, Caius lurked. Glancing left and right to see others amongst the mob with crimson eyes, he slowly began to walk forward.

Pushing past four screaming girls clutching Starbucks cappuccinos in one hand and placards in the other, he made his way to the front of the crowd. Instantly two NYPD officers rushed to block him, M4 carbines at their sides.

"Look pal, just move on back there." The first one declared, holding up a hand.

Caius smiled underneath his hood.

"But of course gentlemen…"

Without another word, and with a casual smirk, he stepped forward and reached for both officers, snapping their necks in a heartbeat.

The sound was like a gunshot as the two officers hit the ground but Caius ignored them.

"Amun, the flag." He ordered and the swarthy Egyptian scuttled forward, handing him a deep crimson flag rolled up.

Hefting the spear-like pole in his left hand Caius studied it.

"Amun." He said coldly as a platoon of Ultra Vector soldiers spilled out of the gates and moved to surrounded them. "Are you ready?"

"As always my lord…" Amun said nervously as the soldiers surrounded them, aiming their rifles straight at the two vampires.

"Good." Came the casual reply, not even looking up as the crowd stared at them. "For tonight…"

"Put your hands behind your head!" the Ultra Vector sergeant at the head of the platoon demanded and Caius smiled.

"Of course." He said amicably, placing his hands behind his head and pulling the hood down.

"Oh my…" the sergeant began, all colour draining from his face as Caius revealed himself.

"Tonight gentlemen." He said, addressing the dumbstruck soldiers before him.

"We are Volturi!" he roared, unfurling the crimson flag to reveal the Volturi crest and, with a wink at the surrounding soldiers, leapt into the air and over the fence.

"Take him…" the sergeant ordered, but the command was lost as the rest of Caius' army sprinted forward, tearing the throats from the soldiers in seconds and carrying on to jump over the fence after their master, the eyes of everyone on them.

Caius fell to earth, flag in one hand, fist pointed downward as, below him on the ornamental lawn, US Marines and black Ultra Vector troops rushed out, aiming upwards.

"Surprised?" he shouted aloud with a laugh, a second before he struck the ground, the force sending every man in a ten metre radius to the ground.

As others raised their weapons in his direction, the rest of his army fell, striking the ground and smashing into the Ultra Vector ranks with bursts of crimson and the screams of their victims. Caius didn't let any of the soldiers get up, impaling the nearest man upon the spiked end of the flag before hurling it to one of the other vampires, and turned, eyes ablaze and hands contorted into claws to address his army rallying to him, a mass of crimson eyed pale figures, all staring at him as more soldiers spilled into the courtyard and aimed their weapons, surrounding the vampires.

"Let the slaughter begin." He declared and rushed the soldiers around them, tearing the head off a screaming US Marine before sinking his teeth into the neck of an Ultra Vector soldier as his army followed behind.

"Enjoying yourself?" he said to Amun with a laugh as the Egyptian tore out a marine's throat with a flick of his hand.

The Egyptian didn't answer and turned to him, a look of confusion on his face.

The next thing the Volturi leader knew there was a deafening explosion and the vampire was gone, replaced by a crater filled with brown rags.

Turning his gaze past his blood-stained allies as they carved through the shocked military forces Caius saw the sand coloured armoured bulk of one of the Abrams tanks, firing its main gun into the mass of vampires, its gunner rattling away on a heavy machine gun.

Caius turned towards it with a smirk, cracking his knuckles.

"This is going to be fun…"

Then he was running, a blur of death slicing through two shocked police officers, tearing them apart without breaking stride and then past the screaming protestors outside the fence to the tank itself.

Drawing his arm back Caius slammed his fist straight into the armoured vehicle, crumpling the front armour like paper and, as the gunner above turned his weapon downward, leapt five metres into the air and came back down on the turret, crushing the tank into a twisted heap of metal and blood before re-joining the battle inside the now overrun perimeter.

Tearing through another squad of Ultra Vector commandos with a grin, the vampire lord was in his element, twisting men's arms till they snapped from their sockets, crushing guns and machetes into scrap metal and punching straight through two soldiers at once with little more than a laugh as their blood splashed onto his face.

Ducking a swung machete from a grim faced Navy SEAL he simply swatted the man aside as if he were an insect, feeling a savage joy at the sound of the man's ribs cracking.

But, halfway through snapping a marine's neck with a flick of his wrist, Caius suddenly felt something.

He had never been a vampire with special abilities but, like all of his kind, he possessed a small ability to detect his kin wherever they were. He had never had cause to use it before but now he was hearing a simple, if quiet, as if it were from very far away, message. 'Help me' it said simply, but Caius couldn't find where it had come from.

"Strange." He said to a howling soldier at his feet as he reached down and tore out his throat. "It can't be…"

Walking away from the mutilated remains of his enemies Caius surveyed the battlefield for some clues to the weird mental message he was hearing.

Ignoring the explosion of a Blackhawk going down in flames or the wail of alarms from the burning Secretariat building in front of him Caius slowly walked across the lawn with a confused look on his face, trying to detect the source of the message.

"Kill him!" came the roar of a nearby blood-stained Ultra Vector corporal, rallying a group of battered soldiers who aimed their weapons at Caius.

Lazily dodging the bullets the vampire leapt forward, still searching for his mystery messenger even as he ripped apart the humans around him.

"Now where are you…" he said thoughtfully, idly backhanding a marine so hard he flew out into the harbour.

But then he felt it again, stronger and louder than before.

Laughing softly Caius leapt up into the air, above the battle raging below, lit by helicopter searchlights and the burning corpses of dying vampires lit up by flamethrowers, then, angling his body straight downward plunged to earth.

But this time he didn't slow his decent, merely let himself power down through the packed soil and earth until, with a slight twinge of surprise, he emerged in a wide open space underground.

For a second Caius had a glimpse of a floodlit hangar type building, with soldiers rushing into positions and scientists running for cover, whilist at the centre of it all was a large metal container covered in warning signs.

Slamming into the concrete with an explosion of grey stone, Caius stood up, instantly dodging the hail of gunfire sent his way and cutting a path through the shocked soldiers to reach the capsule as the others retreated.

Without another thought he tore through the side of the capsule and reached inside, feeling another hand take hold of his.

For a second he was about to rip that hand from its socket, but then he recognised the person's touch.

"Jane?" he said with a raised eyebrow as he pulled the figure out gently, ignoring the soldiers rushing to stop him, and finding himself face to face with Jane, still dressed in the same cloak from the airbase raid, who smiled up at him weakly.

"What have they done to you?" he said with a blaze of anger, dodging a STAKE rocket with a simple step forward and letting Jane slowly get to her feet.

"They…" she began but Caius was already filled with rage, ready to go face the horde of troops spilling into the room, but then Jane gently put a hand on his arm.

"Let me." She said with a weak smile.

Caius grinned as they stepped out to face the Ultra Vector troops, who were desperately retreating back now, closing the huge steel doors at the end of the room behind them, leaving the two vampires alone.

"Ready for some revenge?" he said as they walked towards the thick steel doors, knowing that, on the other side, an entire battalions worth of enemy forces waited.

Jane nodded slowly as they stepped towards the imposing doors, Caius placing his hands on its steel frame, ready to tear them apart.

"I'm ready." She said softly, her eyes glowing red at the thought of more slaughter.

With a slight grunt of exertion Caius pushed the two doors apart with a screech of metal and, for a second, there was silence as the soldiers on the other side watched on in fear, weapons at the ready.

"Now!" Caius ordered as they stepped through the open doorway, over a hundred soldiers gathered there with guns aimed straight at them, about to fire.

Then Jane smiled and every man fell to the ground in fits of indescribable agony.

Instantly Caius grabbed one of the soldiers by the neck.

"Where's your leader?" he demanded, but the man only laughed between fits of pain.

"Like I would…"

Caius snapped the man's neck before he got any further, then grabbed a skinny scientist, whose face paled at the sight of the vampire lord.

"I won't repeat myself." He said as his crimson eyes bored into the man.

"He's upstairs!" the man shrieked. "But please don't k…"

He never got any further as the vampire snapped his neck.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

One man at the end of the corridor slowly crawled towards the lift doors, and a large red control panel on the wall, reaching for the 'Purge' button in one last act of defiance but, when his outstretched finger was centimetres from the small red circle, he felt a cold hand take hold of it, and a patronising voice behind him.

"Oh no don't worry yourself sir, I'll get that for you, Caius said with a grin, before hurling the man aside.

Looking up the lift shaft he turned to Jane, his hand hovering over the button.

"How fast can you jump up there?" he said thoughtfully.

"Fast enough to outrun the firestorm that your about to unleash." She replied with a laugh.

Caius shrugged and, taking one last look at the dozens of soldiers laid around them said with a smirk.

"Let's end their suffering."

Slamming his fist into the button, Caius and his new ally were already halfway up the empty shaft as fire consumed the rooms below in a blaze of flame and agonised screams.


	13. Chapter 12- Join Or Die

**Sutton Place Manhattan, New Volterra 4:00pm**

Caius looked upon the gathered press and reporters from the international news networks, all crushing together as they set up cameras and microphones around the small oak wood desk his followers had brought in as he sat before them in a high backed leather armchair that had, until a few hours ago, been the property of the UN Secretary General.

He had no worries about this press conference, the first to ever be given by a vampire in history, at least, the first one where his species was known. It had been his idea, whilst his forces cleared the bodies from the burnt out UN Headquarters, to hold an interview to the whole world to give his version of events after the battle at the UN building in the official residence of the UN Secretary General.

As he prepared himself for this historic interview, his mind flashed back to hours before when he and Jane had emerged onto the roof of the main building, just as the Secretary General and his bodyguards had been clambering aboard a waiting helicopter. There, as Sky News and CBS helicopters filmed him, Caius had leapt forward, cutting through the leader's guards and held the man above his head, live on international news networks and screamed out to an audience of billions 'We are Volturi!'.

"We are almost ready my lord." Said one of the vampire's guards, a hulking American vampire named Bennet, as a pale faced human technician checked the bank of microphones in front of the Volturi leader.

Behind Caius stood Jane and five other vampires, all members of his new 'Praetorian Guard', along with two crimson Volturi flags, one still stained with blood from the battle hours before. In front of him gathered dozens of human reporters, all terrified but strangely excited by the prospect of watching the speech of the vampire who had taken New York City in one night and renamed it to New Volterra, driving out or killing thousands of UN and American soldiers in the process.

He could smell their fear, despite his repeated assurances that their safety was guaranteed. Caius had even torn apart one of his lieutenants, a vengeful South African vampire who had carried the Volturi flag in the battle at the UN Headquarters, without a second thought as he had attempted to attack a group of Chinese reporters from their state news network. Despite his hatred of the UN, Caius had nothing but apathy for humanity as a whole. They were but cattle to him, and soon he would be their ruler.

As Bennet gave him a nod Caius closed his eyes and brought to mind the speech he had created in his head an hour ago, after returning from driving out a particularly stubborn band of Ultra Vector troops who had barricaded themselves in the Wall Street stock exchange.

Watching the steadily counting down fingers of a nearby technician, Caius stared straight at the cameras and, as the man gave him a thumbs up, began.

"Humans of the world." He stated simply. "I am speaking to you now from the former city of New York, one of your greatest and brightest achievements as a species, and now the capital of my new Empire of the Fang. I will not speak down to you now as I wish to put your minds at ease and not to scare you. But first I must introduce myself. I am Caius, leader of the Volturi, king of New Volterra and, of course, a vampire."

As he said this there were muffled gasps of disbelief from the reporters in front of him. Despite the images of him and his followers punching holes through tanks and jumping up to ensnare low flying helicopters last night, they had still clung to the belief that Caius and his army were human but now, in front of billions of people, he had just broken the greatest of the Volturi laws and revealed the existence of his race to humanity. But the Volturi leader cared little for the old rules as he spoke to the world.

"I and my followers, and thousands, if not millions, like me, are all around you, but don't make stupid presumptions. We are not the monsters of myth and legend. You cannot harm or fight us. We will destroy anyone and anything that opposes us. For too long my race has lived in the shadows and, on behalf of us all, I am revealing myself to you."

He frowned.

"I do not come in peace though humanity. I come to bring war to your race. I come not to surrender or lay down and submit, but to watch you do just that. But fear not people of the world. My race do not wish to exterminate you, oh no. Unlike some of your race…" he added darkly. "…we are not genocidal or vengeful in nature. Day one. Year zero. New regime. As of today all governments, nations, militaries and races will submit to me and my people. Join or die." He said softly but with menace. "For any who have not laid down their arms and joined the Empire of the Fang will soon find themselves facing our wrath."

Glaring straight into the cameras in front of him, Caius' eyes blazed red.

"I am speaking to you Ultra Vector. I stand now on the ruins of your headquarters, ready to wipe you out. No mercy shall be given to you, since you gave us none. Humanity shall know of the crimes of the United Nations 'Ultra Vector' unit. They were responsible for the use of weapons of mass destruction upon innocent humans and vampires alike. They were the ones who raided our homes and killed us without trial or protest. We have committed no crime beyond our existence, which they seem to find an abomination. I have lived in this world for centuries and I have seen this kind of action time and time again by tyrants and despots and I vow to bring them to justice for their crimes."

As he said this two vampires marched into the room from a side door, a figure with a black hood over their head and dressed in nothing but a the blue remains of a UN flag between them, who they presented to Caius.

"This." He declared. "Is the face of a traitor!"

And with that he tore of the hood in one sweep of his arm to reveal the shocked face of the Secretary General, sweating and trying to hide his face until the two guards held his arms down.

"This man." Caius said. "He ordered the genocide of our race! He did not enter into diplomacy! He did not approach us with any terms beyond an atomic weapon dropped on our city! And now he stands before you to sign the terms of surrender on behalf of humanity."

Bennet appeared by Caius for a second, placing a piece of paper and pen on the desk before moving to one side.

"On behalf of the United Nations, and humanity, this man has handed over leadership of the world to me and my people. From this point on, I will be accepting ambassadors and envoys from every nation on Earth until all of you have submitted to my rule. And, if any of you are feeling rebellious…" he said as the Secretary General signed the treaty with shaking hands. "On your screens now you should be seeing the gathered members of the United Nations Security Council. They are in my custody and will pay for their crimes in due course but, for every day before the world submits to me, I will kill one of them and if, a week from now, humanity has not bowed to its new leader, I will not just kill them all."

He leaned forward, knowing all the cameras would now have zoomed in on his face.

"I will raze to the ground every nation that still stands against me."

He continued, sensing the fear of everyone in the room skyrocketing.

"Of course, you are a race of warriors and I know many of you will,foolishly, believe yourselves above my demands and I am talking to you now. Send out your armies, your soldiers and machines of war."

He balled up a fist.

"I will crush everyone who stands against me and, when the world is at my feet…"

He paused for a second, letting the meaning of his words sink in.

"I am coming for you Ultra Vector."


	14. Chapter 13- Beginning of the End

**USS Theodore Roosevelt, UN Atlantic Fleet ****12:00pm**

The day after Caius' historic speech to the entire world, the entire United Nations assembly was now aboard the titanic US Navy super carrier the USS Theodore Roosevelt, at the heart of a huge fleet made up of over fifty navies anchored twenty miles out from New Volterra, protected by literally hundreds of other ships, a no fly zone the size of France and a literal swarm of jet fighters and helicopters.

No chances were being taken here as every ship's defences were combat ready, anti-air missiles and anti-ship rockets ready to shoot down any attempt by the vampires to attack this most sensitive of locations, where the governments of every nation on earth were now met in the first conference of its kind.

Newly promoted General Staunton, still left reeling from the horrific retribution Caius had dealt him but who had insisted on returning to frontline duties, was sat in the spacious cabin of a Royal Navy Merlin helicopter buzzing over the anchored fleet and frothing seas below. Around him sat all of his squad, all nervously checking their weapons, despite the fact the last vampire attack, a group of about twenty swimming below the surface from the direction of New Volterra, had been blown out of the water milliseconds after they were confirmed a target, then a Russian Hind gunship had hovered over the wreckage and dropped depth charges and raked the water with machine gun fire to kill off the survivors.

Still though that fear persisted. All of them had watched the footage from the battle at the UN Headquarters, seen Caius skewer a Viper helicopter gunship with the Volturi flag without breaking a sweat whilst his followers tore through the entire American Division and UN guard as if they were paper. Added to that was the attack on RAF Hereford, where Caius himself had managed to slip past the most heavily guarded installation in Britain to execute their commander's family. There had actually been a vampire attack upon the base the day of Caius' speech, over fifty vampires rushing the perimeter defences like rabid dogs before RAF Apache helicopters tore them apart with heavy machine guns and rockets.

Staunton glanced around at his squad as they neared the main deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a squadron of advanced USAF F-35s screaming past in a blur of silver, most likely off to enforce the no fly zone over New Volterra. Most of them were pale faced under their red berets, lost in their own thoughts. He couldn't blame them. It had all seemed to be going so well days ago but, after Romania, it had just been one disaster after another. From the horrific reports from Cairo all the way to the fall of New York, Ultra Vector was being pushed back. He had heard messages from the other divisions, all of them reporting defeat after defeat. From the loss of dozens of small villages and towns in North Africa overnight to rogue vampire cults to the 'New Horde' of the Mongolian steppes sweeping aside an entire Chinese Army battalion in a matter of hours, the situation across the world was crumbling.

As the helicopter landed on the deck of the supercarrier, ground crew scuttling around as the rotors powered down,the squad were up and ready, Rog hauling open the cabin door and stepping out into the cool sea air.

Jumping down and following his squad Staunton took in a deep breath and strode purposefully across the metal deck, the roar of jets overhead and flurry of air as the helicopter behind took off deafeningly loud. However he was soon inside the cool gloom of the ship itself, his squad peeling off as he came to the doors to the hangar, guarded by two squads from the Asian Division, hefting heavy QBB-95 machine guns.

"General Staunton?" the leader of them, a towering North Korean commando, said to him and he nodded. The soldier smiled as he passed a quick retina scanner over the general.

"Go right on in sir." He said as the scanner gave a positive ping and Staunton stepped through the small metal doorway and into the vast space of the main hangar, hastily converted to a crude approximation of the original United Nations Assembly room, complete with a massive collection of flags along with representatives of all members.

"Ah General Staunton!" he heard a familiar voice say as he walked to his designated seat alongside the other shell shocked looking Ultra Vector commanders, glancing briefly at the literal army of black uniformed soldiers lining the walls.

As he sat down he looked up at the speaker, the Deputy Secretary General, a cheery elderly Scandinavian dressed in a completely inappropriate bright blue shirt and tan shorts. The man had been on holiday at a UN base in the Caribbean and had refused to dress up for the occasion, citing his current temporary status as head of the organisation as a reason.

"Now if we can return to the business at hand." He said cheerily.

As he said this the French Vice President stood up and spoke.

"I would like to raise one issue and one issue only." He declared grandly. "Do we surrender or do we fight?"

Instantly the American Vice President was up.

"Look, we have half the cruise missiles in North America pointed at 'New Volterra' or whatever the fuck that the vampire leader is calling it. He's not going anywhere…"

"You really think that's going to stop him?" The French Vice President said with a sarcastic grin. "You said that having half the American Division protecting the UN would stop the vampires! And look where that got us! Cowering out here whilst Caius demands our immediate surrender…"

At this point the room once again dissolved into a free for all shouting match, at the centre of it the American and French Vice Presidents practically coming to blows.

Staunton sighed as he watched the arguments flaring up before his eyes. This war just wasn't going to be winnable if every disagreed each other. As the chaos entered another minute without stopping he glanced at the other Ultra Vector commanders, who had already guessed what he was about to and were giving nods of approval as he stood up, hand going to the revolver at his hip.

'This is going to probably make me deaf…' he thought to himself as he drew the heavy Magnum 500 and aimed it at the roof above, hoping the bullet wouldn't drop down and hoping it went into the thick steel above.

Then, taking one last look at the disorder before him, he fired.

The effect was instantaneous.

As one there was an almost comical intake of breath by the entire room and Staunton took the floor, smoking gun in hand as he stepped into the circular space within the rows of seating.

"My friends!" he began with what he hoped was a trustworthy smile. "Now is not the time for argument! As others have said before me, there is only one issue. And of course only one answer. We fight…"

Soon as those words left his lips one of the dignitaries from Australia stood up and retorted.

"Have you not seen what that madman said in his broadcast? If any country were to stand up to him they would be swept aside!"

Staunton grinned.

"Exactly! One country would fail, as the loss of the noble US Marines guarding New York proved. And yet, what is this organisation, what do we here represent? We are the United Nations, and united we stand against this menace which seeks to subjugate us!"

He could see a few nods from the delegates arrayed around, and pressed on.

"So I say that we don't play his little game! We have another six days before he makes good on his promise to declare war upon humanity. Six days to create and prepare an army. Not of one nation but of all nations. An army of humanity to face the forces of the vampires! Who is with me?"

The general could see the approval on many people's faces around the room, but then one voice spoke up, one that Staunton recognised as that of the British Deputy Prime Minister, technically his superior.

"Brave words there general." The stout grey haired politician said with a wry smile. "But this isn't some stupid action film we're part of. For every one of those days that you are creating this 'army of humanity' Caius will be executing our world leaders live from his fortress. Is it really worth it? To build up this force that will, to tell the truth, most likely crash and burn against the vampires, whilst innocent men and women are slaughtered?"

"We either lie down and submit sir, or we fight back and show these vampires that humanity will not go out with a fight. That the fate of our species is not to go out with a whimper, but a bang. A battle that will forever cause vampires all across the planet to quake in fear at us once more!"

This time the room erupted into applause and the SAS commander felt a wide grin come to his face. By this time in six days this war would come to an end, one way or another.


	15. Chapter 14- The Army of Humanity

**USS Theodore Roosevelt, UN Atlantic Fleet ****6:00am**

Standing on the flight deck of the titanic form of the fleet's flagship, General Staunton, hand on a side rail to steady himself as the ship powered through the water, watched the vast force that the UN had created over the past week all moving together towards New Volterra.

As USAF fighter jets jostled for space alongside Chinese MiGs, African Saab Grippen and all varieties of warplane in the air overhead, followed by the ponderous bulk of C17 Globemaster transport planes and the distinctive silhouette of what could only be an AC130 gunship, Staunton watched the warships all around preparing weapons on their decks, from missile tubes to Goalkeeper defence guns and deck mounted machine guns to deal with vampire attack. Whirring overhead and around came helicopters of all shapes and sizes, cabin doors open to reveal heavy weapons and squads of both black uniformed Ultra Vector soldiers and troops from all over the world, all decked out in blue UN helmets and body armour.

It had been a logistical nightmare to bring this force together, and yet it was only a fraction of what they had, with literally thousands of other units arrayed on the land border with New Volterra, ready to rush in when the UN fleet was in place. It had been decided very quickly that the scattered remnants of Ultra Vector, still reeling from almost constant vampire attacks upon their bases, just wasn't in the position to mount such an operation on its own, and so now, armed with little more than a crash course in anti-vampire attacks and the most powerful infantry weapons their countries could provide, the literal 'army of humanity' as Staunton had first called it, now its unofficial name, was ready for battle.

Though he would never have believed that some of these nations would ever fight together; the sight of North and South Korean marines sharing helicopters together for this operation would have been a laughable notion days ago, somehow, in the face of a common foe, they had pulled together, all supplying divisions of their forces for this massive effort. For the past few days Staunton and the senior UN and Ultra Vector leaders had been working on little sleep and gravel-like US Navy coffee to plan out maneuverers and to try and work out what settlement, if any, they could make with the vampires when all this was over.

It had been a sobering thought for all present when they had rewatched Caius' speech, seen the genuine emotion that the vampire had shown, the hatred for the injustice that had been wrought upon his people. They had all been complicit in what really amounted to war crimes to try and destroy the vampires, all the way up to the use of nuclear weapons, and they had all known that every one of them would have to answer for what they had done when all this was over.

But now was the time for action, not words, Staunton thought as he saw the distant form of New Volterra on the horizon. The battle plan was simple really, involving a rush of mechanised units supported by full air cover and helicopter support through the wide streets of the city, hoping that any vampire ambushes could be dealt with quickly by escorting gunships, before eventually moving through Central Park, where the wide open spaces would allow them to bring their superior firepower to bear fully, then straight through to recapture the UN Headquarters.

They didn't know when or where Caius himself would attack but the entire taskforce knew that, whenever the ancient vampire did attack, it would take everything they had to fight him. Most were predicting he would attempt a defence of the UN building itself, safe in the knowledge that the venerable headquarters had too much significance for humanity to be simply razed to the ground. Even so, if the worst came to it and they failed, Staunton had direct orders from the entire replacement Security Council that, if it came to that, any measures would be used to destroy Caius and his fledgling empire where it stood, no matter the cost.

He was brought out of his thoughts as he saw Rog and the rest of his squad come marching over, all decked out in full kit and awaiting his orders.

"Sir our transport is ready." His heavy weapons specialist, a German Kommando called Bosse said with a grunt through his thick balaclava, hefting a light machine gun like it was weightless.

The general nodded. He doubted many of these men, him included, would survive the day.

A second later and the thunder of helicopter blades joined the roar of aircraft all around and a black and white Blackhawk helicopter came roaring into land beside them, and Staunton instantly fought back a slight gasp of surprise as he saw the distinctive markings of the aircraft.

"You got us Marine One as a transport?" he said with a raised eyebrow and his second in command, Lieutenant Rog, only shrugged and grinned.

"You wanted the best equipped command helicopter we could find and the Presidents still trapped in New Volterra so the White House was all too willing to loan us his helicopter since Air Force One is unavailable…"

As he clambered into the slightly cramped but comfortable interior with the others, instantly grabbing the President's chair for himself, and the craft began to rise, Staunton felt a grin come to his face as he whispered softly.

"Enjoy your last few hours on earth Caius. We're coming for you…"


	16. Chapter 15- Empire of the Fang

**UN Headquarters, New Volterra ****6:30am**

The office was almost pitch black with the shutters down on the windows, but for Caius, it might as well have been blazing sunshine, so advanced was his eyesight. The same however, couldn't be said about the room's other occupant.

The US President, leader of the Western world was sat, bruised and emaciated looking, in the centre of the office, empty except for the two occupants. Caius paced around the president, his cloak falling heavily over his shoulders as he walked.

"Now Mr President." He said softly. "We're still waiting on the camera crew so we have some time before I end you. The choice is yours on how the conversation goes down. Are you going to be like the Chinese premier and insult me all the way, or would you rather be like the French President, who I had a most interesting…"

"You're not going to win…monster." The President spluttered weakly, and Caius shook his head, a disappointed look on his face.

"That is unfortunate Mr President. I expected better of you." He said softly.

"Ultra Vector will find you!"

Caius smirked.

"Oh of course I know that. They know exactly where I am, I made no secret of that, and of course they will try something soon enough but, until then, we have some time to spare…"

As he said this the door opened and a hulking African vampire stepped into the room, bowing low to Caius before saying.

"My lord, the lookouts have spotted the fleet."

Caius nodded then held up a hand and, for a few seconds there was nothing except the sounds from the rest of the city. Then he heard the dull drone of helicopter blades in the distance.

"Rally the guard." He ordered simply. "Send out the call to every one of the faithful within the city."

The vampire nodded and was about to leave when Caius stopped him.

"Tell them to unfurl the new flag. And of course, release the prisoners."

The other vampire grinned.

"It will be done my lord."

"And I guess we can suspend protocol considering the current circumstances…" Caius added, and saw the president smile hopefully.

A second later he caved in the politicians head with one punch and said firmly.

"Spare no one."

* * *

A minute later and Caius stood on the roof of the UN building, watching the rapidly approaching forms of the UN air attack approaching, hundreds of helicopters and low flying warplanes soaring towards him.

Behind him were his hundred strong Praetorian Guard,and,in the streets far below,his thousands strong army rallied. He turned,the Guard parting for their leader as he walked to the edge of the roof and looked down. Below,a vast mass of black cloaked figures raised their fists to the sky and bellowed as one.

"Caius! Caius! Caius!"

Their leader grinned and held aloft his own fist.

"The Empire of the Fang will never fall!" He bellowed. "We will stride this planet as gods for eternity!"

A resounding cheer exploed from below,and he saw countless red Volturi banners held aloft by his mighty force of the vampire race.

Here they would make their stand. And here,humanity would fall to their knees at his power.

"This is it! The final battle!" Caius shouted,fists clenched. " This is it! The apocalypse!"

As the army below roared and chanted, he turned to face the approaching UN attack.

"The flag!" he ordered, and instantly the huge form of the Volturi banner was unfurled down the length of the UN building facing towards the Ultra Vector forces, a vast expanse of material, dyed crimson by the blood of countless UN and Ultra Vector soldiers.

And there, in the centre of the gory expanse, forming a simple 'V' formation, were chained the still moving forms of dozens of Ultra Vector troops, their agonising cries echoing up to Caius, who grinned as the UN helicopters roared overhead.

Caius spread his arms wide as he watched them fly past with the howl of engines and lines of vapour trails, lifted his head to the sky above and laughed.

"Bring it on humanity!"


	17. Chapter 16- Gods Don't Bleed

** Manhattan , New Volterra ****7:00am**

Marine One shuddered underneath Staunton and his men as they roared over the streets of New Volterra, readying weapons for their inevitable descent into the vampire stronghold.

"Sorry for the turbulence gentlemen." Said the pilot from up front. "But it's either take on the crosswinds up here or risk getting jumped by a bloodsucker."

Staunton glanced out the side window as they powered onwards. Below them the skyscrapers of Manhattan rose up ,many of them decked out with giant crimson banners down the sides and flags flying from the rooftops.

"It's like bloody Red October out there…" Lieutenant Rog said with a nervous grin. "Bastards should have spent more time on their defences and less on making this city uglier than it already was."

The others laughed grimly behind Staunton as he watched low flying Chinese J-10s commencing bombing runs on the streets below, filling the air with grey clouds of smoke and dust. They had managed, a few days earlier, to get warning to trusted local authorities within New Volterra of their impending attack, and that all civilians should seek shelter in the underground metro system, far from the bombings of the streets above. Even now he knew that the forces on the ground moving in from the suburbs had a priority to protect civillians, not just destroy vampires.

"Escorts are here!" shouted Private Vickers, pointing out the window. Following the SAS soldier's gaze Staunton saw the distinct shape of five Eurofighter Typhoons, flying in perfect formation alongside their helicopter, whilst the rest of their assault group, made up of ten other transport helicopters of all types, was behind, the soldiers on board ready to cleanse New Volterra of the vampire menace.

Moving into the front cockpit he stood between the two pilots, the co-pilot giving him a tired nod as he watched the skies above the besieged city beyond.

"Ready?" Staunton said with a fatalistic grin, smoothing the red beret on his head.

The pilot shrugged, not taking his eyes off the battlefield beyond as a squadron of USAF F-16s screamed past in a V formation, releasing stacks of rockets into the streets below.

"As we can ever be." The pilot said finally. "This makes Iraq look like a walk in the park. So is there some super-secret weapon you're not telling us about that's going to win us this war?"

"Not as such…" the general replied. "Once we get to Central Park I'm just hoping we can take Caius and his cronies down before things get ugly."

"And killing the leaders going to make those vampires surrender?"

Staunton sighed inwardly. He didn't have an answer to that question.

"I hope so. I bloody well hope so…"

The conversation was ended as the radio crackled into life and the voice of a haughty Japanese air commander came on the air.

"This is Major General Takashi. Air superiorty has been achieved. Transports are clear for landing."

The pilot laughed grimly as the message ended.

"Well it's great to know it took us ten minutes to gain air superiority over things that can't fly. Anyway, we should be reaching the drop zone in less than five minutes sir."

Staunton nodded and quickly turned back to the cabin beyond, where his squad were trying to prepare themselves for the battle ahead, a few almost religiously checking their equipment, some looking at pictures of loved ones whilst one, the hefty German Kommando Werner, was drinking from a hip flask.

"Need a bit?" he said as Staunton passed by and, with a shrug, the general turned back and had a swig.

As the foul tasting liquid cascaded down his throat the general felt the helicopter descending slowly, and the pilot's voice came over the intercom.

"Ok we're nearing the drop zone and ready for landing. Hang on gentlemen."

Looking forward for a second to see the green mass of Central Park amongst the ocean of grey buildings beyond,Staunton turned back to his squad.

"Ok men." He began simply, grabbing his L85A2 rifle from the rack beside him. "You all heard my detailed briefing back at base so I'm sure you don't need much of a recap. But, just in case, remember our priority is Caius. The rest of our division will handle whatever bodyguard he has but it's the responsibility of our unit to find him and destroy him. I know he may be a monster but he seems to follow some sick vampire code of honour so if he's going to be after anyone in particular it will be this command squad and us alone unfortunately. Remember though, there's another five squads with us so we aren't alone on this one."

By now the helicopter was metres from the ground and Staunton checked his kit one last time as Ivanov stood by the cabin door, heavy RPK LMG in one hand and the other clamped around the door handle.

"Ready sir?" the Spetnatz operative said softly.

Staunton nodded and, the second the helicopter hit the ground, Ivanov hauled the door open and he, along with half the squad, instantly leapt out, weapons at the ready.

The general jumped out, along with the other half, turning back briefly to the helicopter,having to shout over the roar of the blades and noises of engines from beyond.

"If we're alive by the end of this pick us up from here!" he bellowed. "Just make sure that we can return that craft to the White House in good condition!"

The pilot gave him a thumbs up from the cockpit as Staunton pulled the door shut and turned back to the park beyond, feeling a rush of air as Marine One soared upwards.

Central Park stretched beyond him as a vast plain of grass and trees, strangley idyllic except for the smoke rising from the city beyond, along with the roar of gunfire and heavy explosions in the distance. And in front of him was his army.

Covering the field beyond in a blanket of armour and uniform was the main force of the UN's 'army of humanity'. With soldiers from almost every nation on earth, this was truly an international force, and was currently deploying into the open space, with squads of troops taking up positions amongst the craters and fallen trees which marked the carpet bombing the UN air units had spent the past hour subjecting the area to in an effort to open up the battlefield.

It had already been agreed that urban warfare would turn into a massacre against Caius and his vampires so, whilst the ground forces in other areas were moving by armoured convoys through the streets, this main unit was now ready to fight the Volturi in the open. All around Staunton and his squad the ten thousand strong force was amassing, setting up heavy weapon emplacements and clearing landing sites for the swarms of transport helicopters overhead as heavy battle tanks and armoured vehicles moved into position.

As the general and his squad ran to their position, threading their way through platoons of soldiers in blue combat helmets and tanks proudly flying the blue UN ensign from their armoured forms, Staunton could see helicopters landing on the rooftops of buildings overlooking their positions, crammed with snipers armed with anti-material rifles and missile launchers, whilst the small forms of Little Bird attack helicopters buzzed low overhead, Ultra Vector troops hanging onto the sides.

Their position was at the centre of the UN forces, behind a crude barricade of fallen trees and accompanied by grim faced Ultra Vector troops carrying bright UN flags. On both sides sat the squat forms of battle tanks, repainted in white and black UN colouring.

"Remind me why we're right in the centre of the battlefield?" Vickers said with a frown as he crouched by the fallen trees and checked over his L82A1 sniper rifle.

"We're the bait." Ivanov stated simply, lighting a cigarette and watching the empty field beyond. "The vampires rush us. We fire upon them and they keep coming until our air support and the men above us drop them." He added with a wave of his hand toward the snipers on the rooftops above.

"Look just keep it together and remember that there's ten thousand others who've got your back." Staunton said firmly, gesturing behind them to where, on the low, crater strewn hill beyond, the forms of hundreds of units and scattered vehicles were deployed.

"Plus we've already fought Caius before." Rog added as he and Werner carried a heavy HK Grenade Machine Gun into position and set it down, the burly German looking down the sight of the weapon as he loaded it. "And this time we have an entire army to help us. I mean the second he gets here we're just going to…"

It was at that very moment that, across the field, the vampire army appeared from thin air.

* * *

Back at the UN fleet, the command centre was filled with complete chaos and confusion as the military and political leaders gathered there watched in horror the scene unfolding in Central Park.

"They just came out of nowhere…" an American general said in disbelief as he saw the same few seconds of footage being repeated over and over again on one of the computer screens before him, its operator pale faced with his hands contorted into fists. Behind him others watched as the footage, taken from a Little Bird scout hovering over Central Park ,distinctly showed that, in the space of a second, a once empty field facing the UN lines had been filled with thousands of vampires, stretched out in one large mass of black cloaked figures and fluttering red banners.

"How the…" the Deputy Secretary General, his near permnenanrt smile now lost as he gazed upon the blurry forms of the vampire army.

"Look these weren't on the sensors a moment ago. They just…appeared." One of the technicians said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"Maybe it's some kind of vampire stealth system? A natural cloaking device?" suggested a French commander, shrugging in abject disbelief.

"Perhaps they moved so fast they weren't visible till they stopped?" came the voice of a Chinese general, frowining at the officers around him all pale faced with shock.

"Impossible!" snorted one of the other officers and the room soon descended into chaos as the technicians, soldiers and officers all just devolved into arguments and theories of their own.

But then one voice suddenly spoke out, shouting down the rest of the command centre until they just looked at the speaker.

It was the Japanese prime minister, who had insisted that, as a former member of the elite 1st Airborne Group, he was more than able to help in the complex operations they were coordinating.

"As I said whilst you were all arguing amongst yourselves, it doesn't matter how or what the vampires just did. The only way to greet them is with the massed guns of our brave soldiers."

Turning he looked out to the smoking buildings of Manhattan beyond.

"I want these vampires to know the meaning of superior firepower…"

* * *

In Central Park the vampire army still remained in the scarred and churned up field beyond, unmoving, as the UN force prepared to wipe it off the earth.

With the soldiers on the ground setting up portable missile launchers ,snipers above readying explosive rounds and tanks and armoured vehicles aiming heavy weaponry at the Volturi, it seemed as if this battle would be the quickest, and most anticlimactic, of the entire war. As helicopters hovered above with rocket pods and machine cannon ready, a flight of A-10 Thunderbolts and Eurofighter Typhoons came swooping into attack formation overhead, Staunton prepared himself to call down a devastating torrent of firepower upon the massed vampires.

Glancing overhead as a thundering roar of engines announced the arrival of two AC-130 gunships, Staunton took a deep breath, noticing the troops around him hunkering down for the inevitable storm of shrapnel and pieces of vampire that would soon be flying their way.

With one final look at the Volturi still standing motionless beyond, he spoke into the radio and said two words.

"Unleash hell."

With a rush of engines and roar of gunfire, the first salvos were unleashed, artillery shells and missiles streaking straight toward the Volturi lines, blanketing them in ash and smoke as they struck. The tanks behind Staunton's squad opened up aswell, sending high explosive shots screaming past whilst the dull thumps of hundreds of heavy weapons and vehicles opening up as one echoed in the soldier's ears. With a whoosh of jet engines the Thunderbolts came in low for an attack run, their chain guns firing into the smoke cloud which hung around whatever remained of the Volturi, before peeling off one by one to rearm back at the fleet beyond whilst the Eurofighter's rocket pods blasted into the vampire lines, sending up tongues of fire and smoke high into the sky.

"Keep it up!" Staunton ordered into the radio, hearing the cheers of his troops behind him as the smoke washed over them from the cloud that hung over the field beyond.

As he said this a voice crackled onto the net with a thick Texan drawl.

"This is Papa Dragon, moving in for an attack run. Best stand back boys; this is going to get hot…"

As the voice crackled out Staunton watched the first of the AC-130s come circling around, and the spears of light that marked its fire slamming down into the earth.

And yet, despite the firepower still being hurled into whatever crater the Volturi had been turned into, Straunton still felt as if something wasn't right. As a flight of Hind gunships raked the field with bursts of chain gun fire and rockets before whirring away, Staunton bellowed out an order.

"Light them up boys!"

As one the entire infantry line, made up of thousands of soldiers, both Ultra Vector and regular troops, opened up. The crackle of thousands of heavy assault rifles rang in Staunton's ears as he added his fire to the fusilliade, the rattle of the rest of his squad's weapons added to by the harsh rumble of Ivanov's machine gun and the crack of Vickers's rifle. Streaks of smoke marked the flight of dozens of shoulder mounted missiles and rockets, whilist the dull bangs of high powered rifles echoed from the rooftops overhead.

And yet still that feeling persisted that something wasn't right. After another minute of the thundering barrage, in which the second AC-130 'Screaming Eagle' dropped precision strikes of its 102mm cannon, Staunton once more spoke into the radio with another order.

"Cease fire boys! I repeat, cease fire!"

Within seconds the attack subsided and yet the smoke around whatever was left of the Volturi still stayed where it was.

"Guardian I need a scout unit to check what we can scrape up of the Volturi after that bombardment." Staunton ordered, and then watched as a single Lynx scout helicopter flew to above the smoke cloud and hovered above it.

"This is Recon 1." The pilot said over the radio. "Proceeding to…"

Staunton didn't hear the rest of the pilot's message as he saw a streak of grey suddenly burst through the black smoke cloud and, at great speed, skewer the helicopter in one strike.

"Vampires!" Staunton bellowed, but by then it was too late, and he watched the Lynx go into a tailspin, its cockpit windscreen smashed in by the projectile, and slam into a nearby building with a tearing of metal and smash of glass.

Setting his eye to his rifle's scope, Staunton felt his blood chill as the smoke cloud began to clear and he saw them.

The Volturi.

Completely unscathed and, at their head, laughing was the unmistakeable figure of Caius, brandishing a glittering broadsword and holding his fist aloft in a gesture of victory.

"How…" Staunton heard Rog splutter desperately next to him, but ignored the cries of horror from the men around him as he looked closer and saw, standing by Caius in a triangle formation, three female vampires in flowing red ball gowns, opera gloves and masks, their hands contorted into claws as they appeared to be holding up…

"A shield!" Staunton bellowed. "They've got a shield! I need immediate…"

His order was lost as one voice echoed out over the field, booming out across Central Park.

"That won't be necessary general!"

The general felt a chill run through him as he heard Caius speak, and could feel a collective stab of fear into every human in the ranks around him.

"I am sorry for the deception!" Caius said with a booming laugh. "But I didn't want you having too easy a run of it! The Three Sisters here have proved most useful in protecting us from both your gaze and your weapons!"

Staunton felt a rush of adrenaline bursting through him as he shouted into the radio.

"Snipers concentrate fire on the three women in red!"

As he said this the thunder of hundreds of high powered rifles going off at once filled the air, but the general watched in horror as the bullets struck an invisible barrier around the vampire army like stones on the surface of water and dissolved into nothing.

This time it wasn't just Caius who was laughing but the thousands strong Volturi army, a wave of cackles and jeers drifting across to the UN lines.

"Aro always was afraid of your weapons!" Caius said with another piercing laugh. "And yet now I stand by three of the most powerful vampires in the world who can, with but a thought, render your guns and bombs and bullets as worthless as sticks and stones."

Staunton felt the men around him at breaking point as they watched Caius continue his speech.

"So now we come to the final battle! The final duel between man and vampire for supremacy! And, just as I have made your most powerful weapons useless, I will extend that rule to myself."

Watching through his scope, Staunton saw Caius turn to the three vampire women at his side and, with one sweep of his sword, cleave the heads from all three before a trio of his underlings hurled flaming torches onto the Three Sisters.

Caius grinned widely and held his sword aloft.

"Don't you see? We are unstoppable! And just to prove that…" he added, his horde of followers all chanting his name as he started walking forwards, gripping his sword in both hands as he broke into a brisk run toward the UN lines.

"Caius! Caius! Caius!" chanted his army as they followed, banners flying.

The Volturi leader grinned and stared straight at Staunton, who returned his gaze unflinchingly as his own troops behind him readied their weapons and held aloft their own flags triumphantly.

Both leaders stared each other down as the distance between them closed and, with the battle cries of both armies behind them, spoke with one voice and roared.

"Let's end this war!"


	18. Chapter 17- Sic Semper Tyrannis

**Manhattan, New Volterra 8:00am**

The Volturi horde pounded closer, going much slower than their speed would allow, intentionally slowing down to try and put fear into the hearts of every one of their enemies.

And yet, the only response they got to their charge was a wall of gunfire. In one punishing fusillade of high powered rounds, the thousands strong Ultra Vector line opened up, the first few ranks of the Volturi army wiped out in an instant, torn to shreds by the high calibre bullets, inadvertently shielding their brethren as they were filled full of bullet holes.

Staunton saw Caius disappear into the ranks and instantly shouted out at all within earshot.

"Target spotted at one o'clock! Take him down!"

As soon as the words had left his lips the troops around him, many still reloading from their fire seconds ago, all turned their guns upon the vampires to the right flank, even as explosive shells and mortar fire exploded into the crowd of black cloaked figures.

But as the last of the front rank were shot away, Staunton noticed a glint of metal in the ranks behind.

For a second he paused, slamming another magazine in his rifle and looking on, watching the last of the Volturi vanguard falling, many in pieces, to the crater strewn ground. Then he saw the ranks behind emerge through the gun smoke, and felt a brief tinge of fear.

"Shields!" bellowed an officer further up the line, moments before a steel signpost, honed to a sharp, javelin-like, point, flew from the vampire lines and impaled him clean through the chest, the momentum carrying the deadly projectile through another five men in one sickening burst of red. The general could see them now, bodies hidden behind the metal slabs and arrayed across the entire front rank of the Volturi host, painted crimson with what could only have been blood, the faint marks of rivets and serial numbers visible on what he now recognised as armour plating from M1 Abrams battle tanks. The vampire host now slowed; despite the fact he knew the weight of battle tank armour must have been little effort to even the weakest of them.

That's when Caius remerged from the horde.

With four shield bearers covering his sides, the Volturi leader casually stepped forward, broadsword over his shoulder.

"Lay down your arms humanity!" he ordered, ignoring the rattle of gunfire from all sides as troops from all across the UN force fired upon him, and the resounding _ping _as the bullets harmlessly rebounded off his bodyguard's shields.

Caius shrugged.

"Very well. Jane make them kneel before us." He said, hardly raising his voice and yet every man and vampire on the field heard it.

When Staunton saw the blonde girl moving forward his hand went to his radio, ready to bring down another airstrike to wipe the Volturi off the planet.

Jane smiled.

The radio dropped to the ground, along with every man around him, a few such as Rog and Vickers managing to fire off a few more shots before falling to the ground, howling in agony.

Staunton was on the floor, the feeling of a thousand razor blades upon every inch of his skin as the cool grass below him seemed transformed into a lake of fire. He saw Caius, grinning, stroll toward him, waving away his shield bearers as, with a scream of engines, the low flying attack helicopters and jets coming in for attack runs fell to earth, exploding into crumpled husks amongst the UN lines, silencing some of the cries of pain emanating from every man in the park. As Caius and Jane came closer, the girl laughing at the screams from all sides, a lone GIGN soldier, face pale and tears running down his face, somehow staggered to his feet and raised his Magnum at the approaching vampires. The Volturi leader laughed and casually walked toward the man, gently taking the gun from the soldier's hands and crushing it between his fingers before, in a blur of black and red, ripping the man's throat out, then lightly shoving him aside.

The general, fighting back the waves of pain and dark spots clouding his vision, slowly put his right hand on the ground, repeating to himself 'This isn't real', over and over, forcing his body to work despite the nerves all across himself seeming to scream in protest.

By now Caius was metres away, swinging his blade left and right, smiling as the broadsword carved into a UN soldiers face, licking the blood clean off the metal, his eyes glinting black.

"Ah General Staunton we meet face to face once more." He said in a tone dripping with equal parts sarcasm and venom. "I hope this pain can match that I caused on my last visit. Keep things consistent and all. Speaking of consistency…" he added as Staunton fought back tears of both rage and pain. "I hope you kept to standard Ultra Vector policy in dealing with the little…gift, I left you at your house."

That's when Staunton rose.

Fighting off the messages from every fibre of his being telling him to stay down, he managed to, as Caius continued his speech, lift himself from the ground and draw his Magnum.

"No." he said simply and fired, the shot hitting Jane clean between the eyes, then the detonation of the explosive round caving in her skull.

Caius smirked.

"You missed."

Now it was Staunton's turn to smile.

"Did I?"

With a single shout of defiance, almost the entire UN army picked themselves up as one, the pain now gone, and all their weapons now readied and aimed at the lone vampire standing in front of them, the body of his most powerful lieutenant at his feet.

"Wipe him off the earth!" Staunton roared and Caius, for the first time in his life since a pack of werewolves almost tore him limb from limb, was afraid.

He was already a blur disappearing back to his lines as the first bullets began to fly, and by the time the air was filled with high calibre rounds, they were rebounding from the Volturi's armoured shields.

"Volturi!" Caius thundered from behind the shields, shouting over the sound of bullets rebounding and the scream of approaching aircraft. "Release the Hounds!"

"Oh God…" Staunton heard one of the men from his supporting squads, an African Division soldier, say softly. Then he remembered what his opposite in that division, the newly promoted General Hoyt, had said about a certain vampire tribe.

He didn't have a chance to remember any more as dark shapes emerged from the Volturi lines, leaping into the air far above them, their savage screams drifting down to the terrified troops below.

But then another sound pierced the ears of every man and vampire upon the battlefield. A high pitched whining roar of engines, which caused every vampire to flinch at, earning jeers and triumphant shouts from all across the Ultra Vector lines.

The leaping vampires then disappeared in balls of flame, streaking silver missiles blowing the ragged figures out of the sky to drift down to earth as clumps of clothing and tiny pieces of flesh.

To a chorus of cheers and whooping battle cries from the UN troops, two squadrons of British Tornado GR4 jest soared overhead, trailing red, white and blue smoke.

As the men around him all cheered for their unexpected saviours, Staunton's radio crackled into life, the voice of a jovial RAF wing commander.

"Sorry for the late entry there general. We've got a few missiles left before we need to rearm so I was wondering, do you like your vampires charred or in pieces?"

Staunton grinned as the vampire line fell back slightly, the tanks and heavy weapons amongst the force now opening up and tearing holes in the shield wall. Taking a breath he said softly, with a laugh.

"Surprise me."

As the jets screamed over they released the last of their ordnance straight into the vampire lines, black cloaked bodies flying in all directions Staunton stared out over the battlefield, almost sensing the fear emanating from the vampire lines. Then he felt that same fear fill him as he heard Caius' order echo across Central Park.

"Volturi! Tear them apart!"

Caius sprinted forward, the world seeming to blur around him as hefted his blade and charged. The sword, forged from the diamond tipped weapons of countless dead Ultra Vector troops, had at first seemed a novelty. His hands and teeth were the only weapons he had needed. But this blade just felt right, the feeling of power as he cut his enemies apart on its sharp edge filled him with a sense of power, whilst the blood that pooled in the groove running down its middle provided him with the sustenance to shrug off the bullets of the UN.

Beside him were his bannermen, four on each side all hefting Volturi flags painted in the blood of men, their cloaks ebony black fluttering behind them like ragged banners as they charged whilst his two shield bearers were in front. One banner man fell, a sniper round through his skull but Caius didn't care. Even as his army died around him to enemy gunfire and explosives he kept running.

It was when a Hind gunship roared toward them, its rocket pods tearing into the vampire hordes, that Caius tore his gaze from the Ultra Vector lines.

He simply held out a hand, one of his banner men instantly handing him a street pole javelin. They had created hundreds of these weapons in the last week, and Caius intended to make full use of the deadly projectiles.

Hefting it in his left hand, ignoring a sniper round that took the head off another of his banner men, he hurled it with a shout, grinning as it struck the helicopter pilot dead on, sending the aircraft into a tailspin. It landed right in front of them, but the vampires kept on, a few behind immolated as it went up in flames.

Then Caius saw him.

"Staunton." He said simply, and drew his blade.

The general's eyes widened as the Volturi leader ran for him.

"Sir are you sure about this?" Rog said with a grimace as he reloaded, watching the Volturi advance with a mixture of horror and quiet resignation to his fate.

"Not at all." Staunton said simply then added. "Schmidt, the sword."

The wiry Albanian, halfway through reloading his STAKE launcher, instantly opened the military case at his feet and threw its contents, a steel long sword, a regimental trophy from RAF Hereford, still battle ready as the general threw aside his rifle and held it in both hands.

"Let's see if Excalibur here can't slay a few monsters." He said softly, as the vampires struck their line.

For a few seconds the line was torn to shreds, men lost in fountains of gore as the vampires tore straight through whole squads with no effort. But then the soldiers rallied, those at the front switching to sidearms and melee weapons and facing down the enemy. Although Staunton saw many brave men simply torn apart, their knive, swords and machetes little use against the seasoned cold ones, many were triumphant. As Japanese 1st Airborne commandoes hacked through the undead with steel katanas and tantos and Canadian CSOR cut them down with tomahawks, the general watched with awe a group of British Gurkha soldiers charge the Volturi with kukris raised, cries of 'Aiyo gurkhali!' echoing across the blood and corpse filled battlefield.

But here their air support meant nothing and, as he watched a T-90 sail overhead, the general realised their armoured forces were little use either ,although he felt an odd sense of satisfaction at seeing three German Leopard tanks ram the vampire army on the left flank.

But all that hope died when he saw Caius approach.

The rest of his squad stood by him, their own blades drawn, but then Caius spoke again as he charged.

"Praetorian Guard! This is between me and the general. Kill the rest."

As he said this ten black figures emerged from behind, but these were no Volturi guard.

These were Ultra Vector soldiers.

Though their armour was battered and covered in blood, Staunton could easily put a name to all of them. They had been good men. Now they were nothing but crazed newborn savages,their eyes dark as they stalked forward.

"Remember how I said I would never be scared of vampires?" Vickers said from next to him as the Volturi advanced, the screams and shouts from the rest of the battlefield seeming to disappear.

Staunton nodded as the soldier nervously hefted his machete.

"Well I'm bloody shitting myself now."

Then there was not time for words as Rog turned to the general.

"We've got this one sir." He said with a wink, then looked at the rest of the squad, levelling his machete at the advancing vampires.

"Dla ludzkości!" he roared. "For humanity!"

As his men rushed forward the newborn Praetorians charged aswell, screaming in their bloodlust.

But any thoughts of helping them died as a lone figure in black stalked toward him ,drenched in blood and tapping his sword against his leg.

"Ready to die?" Caius said simply.

Staunton raised his blade.

"Not until I've rammed this down your throat."

Caius laughed as he walked forward and brought up his own sword.

"For that, and the fact you wanted to finish this in a honourable way, I'll go easy on you…"

He lunged forward, catching the SAS soldier off guard with a heavy thrust, which he barely blocked. The strike was like a ten tonne truck, but he knew this was only a fragment of the Volturi leader's strength.

The vampire smiled.

"Tired already?" he asked softly, but was surprised as the general leapt forward, aiming for his face.

He barely dodged it but only laughed.

"Hmmm, you almost got my eyebrows general. It would be a shame to lose them."

Without another word the two crossed swords again, Staunton's strikes heavy and slow whilst the vampire's were as fast and graceful as a dancer, but with the strength of a mountain behind them.

Jumping back from a wild slash, Staunton felt his chest bleeding where the blade had cut him, only just, but straight through his layers of armour and uniform. He knew Caius was toying with him, and that fact was obvious when another vampire, drenched in crimson and his eyes ebony, leapt forward to attack the general, but was simply swatted aside by Caius, who promptly picked the vampire up in one hand and tore his head off.

"Can't have anyone but…" he began, but Staunton was already on the offensive, a rapid series of slashes aimed at the vampires head, yet every time Caius was always just too far away, always taunting.

"It almost feels like cheating with these powers…" he said. "But once you and your pitiful little army are dead it won't really…"

Staunton paused, sweating and breathing heavily, the sword a dead weight in his hand.

As the vampire rambled on he paced around, trying to lull the Volturi leader into a false sense of security. In amongst the vampire's arrogant speeches, one word had stuck out.

"Cheating." The general said simply, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"You know the best thing about honour Caius?" he said with a grin.

The Volturi leader raised an eyebrow.

Staunton laughed and raised his Magnum, watching with satisfaction the vampire's eyes widen.

"That us humans are great at breaking it." He said simply and fired.

The vampire, still dumbfounded by Staunton's words, took the first round to the shoulder ,the explosive bullet blowing out a small crater of flesh, causing him to drop the sword.

In that second Staunton drew his radio from his belt.

"Big-Eye this is Excalibur." He said firmly. "Make him kneel before us."

The Volturi leader's eyes flared up with rage and he started forward. Then a resounding crack filled the air and his left foot disappeared in a blast of grey, holed by a .50 calibre rifle round. He still came at him, and Staunton was about to shift backward when another shot rang out and the other leg was gone. Caius kept coming, even as more rounds pierced him, and Staunton put a hand to his belt, checking the two yellow grenades at his belt were still there.

As the Volturi leader howled in frustration Staunton noticed the vampire horde seemed to be ,ever so slowly, losing faith. All around more soldiers were triumphant in combat, more cold ones making arrogant mistakes and losing their heads for it.

Sensing the Volturi ready to break, he walked toward Caius, calmly shooting down a Volturi banner man that ran at him, kicking aside a crimson banner contemptuously and crouching by the vampire.

Gone was the cold one's arrogance and bluster. Gone was his sense of superiority and self-worth. Now all the general saw was a scared and defeated monster, ready to be destroyed.

Flicking off the pins of the two yellow grenades, he calmly placed them on either side of the vampire's pale face as red and blue smoke rose up from them.

"Enjoy your stay in hell Caius." He said coldly. "Because our friends of the UN Air Division are ready to give you and your army a taste of it."

He expected an insult or arrogant swagger from the Volturi leader, but all he got was silence as he walked away, reclaiming the Volturi blade as a souvenir and saying into his radio.

"All units fall back to position Alpha. The dragon has fallen and his baptism of fire is ready."

As he jogged away he noticed UN and Ultra Vector troops falling back, any vampires trying to follow picked off by the snipers above. When three squads of Ultra Vector commandoes formed up around him, all clapping him on the back and cheering, he saw Rog and the rest of his squad, with a few obvious absences, their blades heavy in their hands.

"We did it." Vickers said simply ,supported by Werner and Vickers.

"How many?" Staunton asked, hearing the roar of approaching warplanes.

"Four." Werner stated. "Schmidt got torn apart. Santos had his throat torn out as he shot his killer to pieces. Brueg disappeared into the melee and I saw his head fly past a few seconds later. If it makes you feel any better sir Ivanov took down four of them with a machete in each hand. Took five others to get him and then he detonated a grenade and took them all down. Crazy bastard." He added with a laugh.

By now they had reached Position Alpha, the main road on the east side of the park where hundreds of UN soldiers rallied, many carrying on to other parts of the city. But for Staunton and his squad, at least for now, it was over.

"Enjoy the fireworks boys." Staunton said with a grin.

* * *

Back on the blood soaked battlefield, Caius stood again. He had crawled amongst the dead, licking the crimson from wounds and biting into corpse's necks but it had been worth it. Now he stood tall and healed once more, and his army were beginning to rally to him.

"After them!" he roared at the remnants of his force, who all screamed their support for him before sprinting off after the retreating Ultra Vector forces.

Glancing around at the corpse strewn field Caius noticed the two smoking grenades at his feet.

Picking one up, spewing foul blue smoke, he turned it over, his ears picking up the roar of aircraft but he ignored them as he turned it over, where a note had been written in black marker pen.

"Look up." He read with a frown.

Then he saw the black shapes of dozens of warplanes all soaring to his position.

Face blazing with anger, he saw one other word written on the yellow grenade.

Boom.

* * *

The first strike of the air bombardment was from a Chinese MiG, its missile arcing down to land directly between the two smoke grenades marking the drop site. From then Central Park was, for a few deafening minutes, turned into a firestorm. Rockets and chainguns tore up the ground as heavy machine cannon and missiles flew to earth as bright points of light.

The two AC-130's were the last of the huge air assault, both circling as one, their weapons firing in tandem to tear up the ground. With no more vampire shields or powers, the last of the Volturi army were literally torn apart, the fires from countless incendiary bombs immolating them into charred skeletons and ash in seconds.

It took another hour for the smoke to clear fully and by then Ultra Vector had won the day. As the blue UN flag was raised over the headquarters and the banner of the Volturi torn apart and its prisoners freed, the Secretary General was led stumbling into the sunlight whilst, all over the city, humans and vampires alike all watched the smoke rise from Central Park. The latter surrendered in an instant to the UN forces, who were now promising amnesty for any vampire who presented themselves to Ultra Vector custody and, before the day was over, every last crimson banner had been torn down and thrown into the Hudson.

And in the heart of everyone in New York, and the world, human and vampire alike, one fact was obvious.

The war was over.


	19. Chapter 18- Et Tu Brute?

Peace Palace, The Hague 11:30am

Captain Staunton walked down the marble floored corridor, boots clicking as he marched forward, earning nods of respect from civilian workers and salutes from the UN soldiers standing around the long passageway.

At his hip was his Magnum 500, its weight familiar to him now, and the sword 'Excalibur'. After the battle in New York the SAS command had been more than willing to let him keep the finely made weapon and he was glad of the old green dress uniform aswell, along with his sand coloured beret. Besides the revolver only two other things remained of his Ultra Vector career. The first was the newly created medal for the campaign, now known in the media and unofficially as World War V. Staunton found that name ridiculous enough but, since the UN had had an even worse name for it, the simple and boring label of 'Conflict 3654' he could live with that. It was an ornate piece, silver with black rims; a single 'V' laid in gold in the middle. Most of the UN soldiers here wore them, many had fought alongside him in New York and he wore it with pride but it still paled in comparison, in his eyes at least, to the other medal pinned to his uniform.

The Victoria Cross.

The Queen herself had presented that, along with dozens of other distinctions and awards, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace a few days ago to commemorate the actions of British and Commonwealth troops during the short, but bloody, conflict. Although enquiries and investigations were being made into many command staff in both international militaries and the UN over conduct during the war, and many Ultra Vector commanders were being held to account for their actions, which some saw as war crimes, for regular soldiers, and men like Staunton who had kept away from the more morally ambiguous decisions of the war, honours and praise came from all sides.

A lot had happened in the past week, he thought to himself as he walked down that long corridor. Ultra Vector had been disbanded, its role of annihilating all vampires now seen as barbaric and, although the Volturi coup had been averted, tensions between vampires, who were now attempting to fit into society, and humans, were still stretched. To that end a new UN taskforce, made up of both human and vampire recruits, was in the making. Staunton had been offered command of its European Division but, like his general rank, his vampire killing role was not one he wanted to revert back to. He had surprisingly become something of a hero to many vampires, mainly those who were now choosing to 'go vegetarian' as the rest were now fast finding their practices illegal under international law.

One thing that had really surprised him was the ease with which peace had been achieved. With the Volturi gone it had fallen to the other powerful covens to draw up a peace treaty with the UN, signed in New York at the beginning of the week, when the smoke had barely cleared from the city. For many vampires, the prospect of living openly in human society had become too much, and now, with full UN backing, these vampires had established an independent nation on a remote tropical island, known as Haven, which was fast becoming a part of global economic and political affairs, complete with ambassadors in many countries and a seat on the UN Security Council.

By now Staunton had reached the door at the end of the corridor, guarded by two soldiers in white uniforms and blue UN combat helmets, part of the new peacekeeping force. As one went to open the door for him Staunton noticed the sun shining through the window fall on his exposed skin, and it sparkled slightly.

Instinctively he felt his hand go for his revolver but he instantly relented, and the vampire only smiled.

"Startle you sir?" he asked and Staunton shook his head with a grin.

"Sorry, force of habit."

The vampire grinned.

"Of course Captain. Go on through, he's waiting for you."

Nodding at the two soldiers, human and vampire, the captain entered the room.

It was ornate; wood panelled with a huge painting covered the far wall, whilist the wood underneath his feet creaked slightly as he walked towards the desk in the centre, where a small figure sat in a sombre black suit.

"Secretary General" Staunton said, saluting.

The Secretary General looked up, his eyes filled with barely contained anger.

"Cut the act Captain. If you're here to try and get me to confess don't bother. I regret nothing."

"Look sir…"

"No!" The old politician said sharply. "You can go and rot as far as I care, along with all the other traitors. I was your leader!" he declared. "It was me who made it all happen! And if we had stuck to my plan none of this would have happened!"

Staunton frowned.

What, peace?"

The politician laughed grimly.

"Peace?! You call this peace? Cosying up to our enemies? Laying down our weapons and dropping our guard? Without Ultra Vector there is no…"

"No war." Staunton finished for him.

The former Secretary General shook his head in disbelief.

"What happened to you Staunton?"

The captain shook his head and turned away.

"I thought I could get you to change your mind but now I see you're just as closed minded as the Volturi were…"

He was already by the door when the old politician called after him.

"Wait…"

Staunton shook his head.

"Enjoy your trial sir."

As he stepped out and closed the door behind him he was confronted by a tall blonde man in a smart blue suit, obviously a vampire judging by his pale skin, but with a warm smile on his face as he held out a hand, which Staunton shook.

"Carlisle Cullen." He introduced himself as. "Vampire Ambassador for the United Kingdom."

"Cullen?" Staunton said with a flash of recognition. "Thought you're coven was destroyed during the war?"

Carlisle smiled.

"The official story Captain. Truth is we managed to prove ourselves no threat and the US government were surprisingly welcoming. Besides some of my coven mates wanting to fight there were few problems. We would have fought at New York but Alice had already predicted your victory. I was anxious to meet you Mr Staunton."

The captain grinned.

"I guess it would be good to meet some vampires who aren't trying to rip me apart."

Carlisle laughed and led him away.

"You really must meet my family Captain. We have heard so much about you…"

Staunton laughed at that idea.

"Carlisle I think this may be the start of a beautiful friendship…"


	20. Epilogue

**The Peace Palace, The Hague 4:00pm**

The former Secretary General shifted awkwardly in the carved wooden seat. Since that traitor Staunton had swaggered in here a few hours ago he had been in a foul mood. The trial was going badly as witness after witness listed his many 'crimes'. Nobody had complained at the time. Nobody had said what he was doing was wrong. The whole Security Council had agreed with him, as had the President of the United States, but all of them were dead now, and the new Security Council, and the newly promoted Vice President, were very much against him, especially the new US President with his talk of a greater role of vampires in future society.

He was brought out from his thoughts when the door opened and the vampire guard stepped in, walking to the table and placing a small silver mobile phone on the table before walking out again.

Th old politician looked carefully at the device, wondering if it was some elaborate bomb designed to assassinate him. Yet when it rang and he held it to his ear he knew it could only be one person.

His master.

"Hello?" he said softly, but was cut off by a gruff sounding voice, garbled through several voice filters to a blank monotone.

"Cut the pleasantries." The voice said softly. "I don't have much time and neither will you if you don't give the facts quickly and truthfully."

The old politician grimaced as the first question came.

"How is the trial going?"

"Badly." He said simply. "My defence team is crumbling, the witnesses are…"

"As I thought." The voice replied. "You saw Captain Staunton?"

"Yes."

The voice sighed.

"That man will only become more troublesome in the future. Plans must be made for his demise."

The former Secretary General grimaced.

"What next then?"

The voice laughed humourlessly.

"What happens next is of no concern to you. You have served your purpose now."

"No I still have power…"

The old politician could hear his master's laughter again.

"Your non-existent power is of no concern to me now. Both you and the Volturi served your purposes and you must be swept aside just as Caius was."

The former Secretary General's face paled.

"But I'm different to Caius!"

"You are." The voice agreed. "Caius was a mad dog and you are a treacherous snake. Your allegiance is to no one but yourself."

"Look I…"

"Enough! Things are moving faster than I imagined originally. Phase one of the game is complete. The pieces have been played and the board must be reset. And like all pawns you and Caius must be swept aside…"

The phone line died and the old politician felt a stab of fear course through him.

Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and the jab of a syringe going into his arm.

As the syringe emptied into him the old politician felt a brief stab of pain, then nothing.

* * *

In an office thousands of miles away in Washington DC, the man on the other end of the line smiled with satisfaction.

"Soon the second phase will begin." He muttered to himself. "Then humanity will kneel before us…"

As he said this the figure opened the window blinds slightly and, as weak shafts of sunlight hit his pale skin, the figure grinned.

There he sat, his skin glistening like diamonds.

"Soon they will all fall." Said the President of the United States.


End file.
